SUWANEE, Ga. - Millsaps continued its hot streak as the Majors extended their winning streak to four games. Millsaps (19-8, 8-4 SCAC) has now won eight of its past 11 games and moved into first-place in the SCAC West thanks to Hendrix's two game sweep of Trinity last weekend.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College went 2-3 on the
week, including 1-2 in conference play to bring their record to
6-18 overall and 3-12 in SCAC play for the season. The ‘Roos
opened the week with a 9-3 loss to LeTourneau before topping
Manhattan Christian College 15-12, and then after two straight
losses to Southwestern by scores of 5-2 and 6-3 on Saturday the
‘Roos ended the week with a 4-0 victory over the Pirates
behind an outstanding pitching performance by Christian Curtis, who
went the distance in the complete game shutout, scattering eight
hits while striking out five and walking just one. Scooter Merritt
went 3-for-4 in the win and scored twice to lead the ‘Roos
offensively. Tyler Appelquist hit .500 with four runs batted in on
the week while Brian Buehler hit .458 with two doubles, and Merritt
finished the week hitting .450 with seven runs scored. AC hosts
UMHB on Tuesday before Millsaps comes to town for two games this
weekend.
Birmingham-Southern (No. 9 – ABCA) faced
Rhodes this past weekend and went 2-1, winning both games on
Saturday but losing on Sunday. BSC still leads the conference
division standings at 5-1 and has the best overall record in the
division at 19-4. Overall, the Panthers are out-scoring their
opponents 194-94 and out-hitting them 192-143. The BSC pitching
staff - consisting of 14 hurlers - owns a combined ERA of 2.71 with
182 strikeouts, and has allowed a .253 opponent batting average.
The Panthers are in action on the road and at home this week,
traveling to face Berry on Tuesday before hosting Emory on
Wednesday and Sewanee this weekend.
Centre went 3-2 on its spring break trip last
week. The Colonels fell 9-2 to Piedmont Tuesday, but bounced back
to win 5-2 over Emory Wednesday. Centre then rallied from one run
down with two outs in the top of the ninth to defeat Oglethorpe 5-3
for its first conference win of the season. Game two took 10
innings, but a solo home run in the top of the 10th with two outs
gave the Colonels a 2-1 win before falling 9-3 in game three of the
series. Centre, now 9-14 overall and 2-4 in the SCAC will travel to
play Transylvania Tuesday before going to Memphis, Tenn. to play
Rhodes.
DePauw posted an 0-3 record for the week and dropped to 7-14 overall. The Tigers opened with a 10-6 loss at LaGrange before suffering a 14-13 defeat at Emory. In that game the DePauw entered the ninth trailing 14-2 and scored 11 runs to close the margin to one run. The game ended with the potential tying run called out at the plate on a throw from the outfield. DePauw dropped an 11-6 decision at Piedmont before all three games at Sewanee were canceled due to weather. For the week, DePauw hit .318, but the opponents batted .388. The Tiger averaged 8.3 runs per game and posted a .409 slugging percentage. Jason Cohen led the way with five hits and five RBI.
Millsaps extended its winning streak to four games with a perfect 4-0 week. Millsaps got the week off to a good start by beating Huntingdon on the road, 12-2 before sweeping a three-game series with LaGrange by scores of 11-3, 12-7 and 4-3. While the Majors played four non-conference games, they also benefited from Hendrix’s two-game sweep of tenth-ranked Trinity, as the Majors moved into first-place in the SCAC West. Will Hawkins paced the Millsaps offensive attack as he hit .556 (10 of 18) with three RBI and one double. He also became the 29th player in SCAC history to eclipse the 200-hit plateau. Millsaps (19-8 overall, 8-4 SCAC) returns to action on March 29 when the Majors travel to cross-town rival Mississippi College for a 6 p.m. game. Millsaps will look to sweep the season series, as the Majors beat the Choctaws 8-7 on Feb. 15 and 6-3 on March 1.
Oglethorpe continued its mid-season surge this past week by going 4-2 overall and 3-2 in SCAC play. The Petrels swept a doubleheader against Sewanee last Tuesday (W, 7-6, W, 4-2) and knocked off Selma (W, 8-0) on Wednesday before Centre snapped a 9-game winning streak on Saturday by topping OU, 5-3. The Colonels and Petrels then split a doubleheader on Sunday to wrap up the week. Against Selma, the Petrels scored all eight of their runs over the first three innings. In Game 1 vs. Centre, the Oglethorpe baseball team led for almost the entire game Saturday. But they couldn't get the third out of the ninth inning, and saw Centre mount a three-run rally to win, 5-3. On Sunday, Oglethorpe split a doubleheader with Centre. OU was able to rebound in Game 2, winning, 9-3. The Petrels are 13-9 on the year, 3-2 in SCAC play. They will next be in action Tuesday evening at home, when they will take on Maryville at 5 p.m.
Rhodes went 3-2 this week with two mid-week victories over visiting Randolph-Macon 8-5, and Hendrix 5-4, before heading to Birmingham-Southern for three games over the weekend. Rhodes went 1-2 while in Birmingham, dropping both games on Saturday, before winnings Sunday’s game 12-10. Senior RHP Hunter Chandler made three appearances and collected three saves this week. He worked 6.1 innings, allowed 5 hits, 4 earned runs, no walks, and struck out 3. The Lynx offense was led by senior outfielders Matt Gilbert and Andy Meier. Gilbert hit .579 (11-19) with 5 runs scored, 4 RBIs, 1 walk, a homerun, and stole 2 bases. Gilbert had an on base percentage of .600 and slugging percentage of .737. Meier hit .400 (6-15) with 3 runs scored, 4 RBIs, 3 doubles, 2 walks, and 2 stolen bases. Rhodes will return to action this coming weekend as Centre College comes to Memphis.
Sewanee opened up SCAC play this week with a pair of losses to Oglethorpe. The host Petrels were able to come out on top in both ends of the doubleheader, winning 7-6 and 4-2. In the first game of the doubleheader, Sewanee’s comeback effort fell a run short as they dropped the 7-6 decision. Trailing 7-3 after four innings, the Tigers scored twice in the fifth and once in the sixth to cut OU’s lead to one run. Sewanee stranded the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the top of the seventh. Lee Schurlknight was charged with the loss after working 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs and four hits. In the nightcap, Oglethorpe was again able to hang on late to take home the 4-2 victory. After falling behind 3-0, the Tigers fought back with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to cut the lead to 3-2. Oglethorpe pushed an insurance run across the plate in the bottom of the eighth for the two-run margin. Alan Komorowksi finished the night 4-for-7 with two runs, two RBIs, one double and a homerun. The Tigers are now 7-11 overall and 0-2 in SCAC play.
No. 22 Trinity went 0-3 over the past week, losing a home game against Hardin-Simmons, and then dropping both games of a conference series at Hendrix. Two of Trinity’s losses were by a single run, though the third was a shutout loss to Hendrix. The shutout was just the third suffered by Trinity since the 2007 season. With the losses, Trinity falls to second place in the SCAC West Division standings, but the Tigers did win the overall season series with Hendrix. Trinity swept a three-game series in San Antonio earlier this year. Trinity will host Southwestern in a three-game SCAC series this weekend. The Tigers and Pirates split two games in Georgetown earlier this month. On Tuesday, Trinity will finish off its home-and-home series with Texas Lutheran, hosting the Bulldogs in a game at 7 p.m.
For the complete SCAC Diamond Weekly for Week 8, click here.
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