BASEBALL - MOMENT #20
May 13,
1996
For the first time in conference history, the SCAC sends two
representatives to compete in the field of 32 at the 1996 NCAA
Division III Baseball Championships. Southwestern
University is seeded third in the Midwest Regional and
Millsaps College is seeded fourth in the South
Regional.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #19
May
1999
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology senior
pitcher Andy Cain caps the most dominating single season
effort ever by a SCAC starting pitcher, finishing with 14 wins and
a 1.42 ERA in 127.0 innings of work with 132 strikeouts. To date,
he holds the season-season records for wins, innings and ERA and
his 1.42 ERA is good for third all-time.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #18
May 16, 2002
Trinity University scores three runs in the first
inning and two more in the third en route to a 7-1 victory over
Southwestern University in first round action of the NCAA
Division III West Regionals played on the campus of Southwestern.
It is the first time in league history (and remains the only
time) that two SCAC baseball teams have faced each other in
the NCAA Tournament.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #17
June 10, 2009
For the first time in league history, the SCAC has two
players drafted the same season in the Major League Baseball
First-Year Player Draft.
Trinity University senior pitcher Evan Bronson is drafted by the
Washington Nationals in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player
Draft. Bronson, a left-hander, was the first pick of the 29th
round, and the 862nd overall selection. He was drafted in
the 36th round in 2008 by the Milwaukee Brewers, but elected
to return to Trinity for his final season. He finished the
collegiate season with a 5-5 record and a 4.22 ERA, along with one
save.
Oglethorpe University sophomore pitcher Daniel Sarisky is selected
by the Houston Astros in the 40th Round of the 2009 MLB First-Year
Player Draft. Sarisky, a sophomore, was dominant on the mound this
season for Oglethorpe. In 15 appearances, Sarisky compiled a 5-1
record with a sparkling 2.68 ERA. Additionally, Sarisky struck out
an astonishing 65 batters in only 40.1 innings while walking only
14 opponents. Bronson and Sarisky become just the eighth and ninth
players in CAC/SCAC history (since 1987) to be selected in the MLB
Draft.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #16
May 20, 2006
Entering the region final as the last undefeated team and needing
just one win to advance to the NCAA Division III World Series,
Millsaps College suffered two heartbreaking losses to Aurora
(Ill.) University – a team it had defeated earlier
in the tournament – and was eliminated from the 2006 NCAA
Baseball Central Regionals. The Majors lost the first game 8-6 and
then 12-11 in the second – battling back from a 10-2 deficit
to tie the game at 11 only to give up the game-deciding run in the
ninth. Millsaps ended the season with a 37-13 record.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #15
October 11, 2010
Former Millsaps College outfielder Hunter Owen (2005-2009)
is named to the D3baseball.com All-Decade Team. The All-Decade team
consists of 52 players and coaches representing the best players in
the decade. Owen, who won back-to-back SCAC Player of the Year
honor in 2007 and 2008, finished his career with a .382 batting
average and 201 hits – making him one of just 26 players at
the time to reach the 200 career hit milestone. He also finished
second all-time in SCAC history with 41 home runs, tied for sixth
with 55 doubles and fifth all-time with 186 RBI’s. He also
led the conference (2007-2009) in homeruns for three straight
years, a feat that no one else in SCAC history has matched.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #14
April 26-29,
2001
DePauw University serves as host for the 2001 SCAC Spring Sports
Festival, its first chance to host the annual season-ending
conference event since joining the league in 1998, and the Tigers
make good use of the home field advantage, winning the
2001 baseball championship by defeating Southwestern 8-4 in
Sunday’s title game. The Pirates beat the Tigers 7-1 in
Sunday’s first game to force the winner-take-all championship
game. DePauw is the first team from the Eastern Division to win
SCAC baseball championship since Millsaps won the title in 1994 and
earned the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance since
1979. For just the second time in league history, the SCAC gets a
second team in the NCAA Baseball Tournament field as Southwestern
receives an at-large berth.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #13
May 14-16,
1998
After winning its first two games at the NCAA Division III
West Regional in Abilene, all Southwestern University needed was
one victory over California-Lutheran on Saturday – a team it
had defeated 8-6 on Friday – to advance to the Division III
World Series. However, it wasn’t meant to be as the Pirates
lost twice (11-3 and 10-6) in the championship round to the
Kingsmen.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #12
April 14,
2009
For the first time in the program's 101-year history, the
Millsaps College baseball team is ranked No. 1 in all of Division
III by D3baseball.com, overtaking previously top-ranked Eastern
Connecticut State with a 4-0 week. Off to their best start in
school history at 30-4 overall with four regular season games to
play, the Majors jumped two spots from No. 3 to No. 1 by earning
597 total points and 10 first-place votes.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #11
June
1997
Peter Austin of Millsaps College is drafted in the 40th round
(#1,202 overall) of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft by the
Pittsburgh Pirates – making him the first SCAC
student-athlete to be taken by a professional team in its amateur
draft.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #10
April 29,
2007
Austin College made history at the 2007 Baseball
Championship, scoring the first SCAC Championship for the school as
the ‘Roos swept through the tournament undefeated to
claim the conference crown. Austin’s inaugural conference
campaign was punctuated with a 9-7 victory over 15th-ranked
Millsaps in the title game, which was played on the campus of
Southwestern University as part of the 45th-annual SCAC Spring
Sports Festival. Sophomore catcher Patrick Ray hit .429 (6-14) in
three games for Austin College, including tournament-highs of three
home runs, eight runs scored and 17 total bases.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #9
April 26, 2009
Hendrix College first-year pitcher Caleb Schallawitz holds a
powerful Trinity University offense to one run on only three
hits and strikes out two in an 11-1, seven-inning victory that
gives the Warriors their first-ever SCAC baseball championship
and the school's first men's SCAC championship in any sport. The
Warriors went through the tournament undefeated and earned the
SCAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Baseball
Championship. Schallawitz dominated a Tiger offense that totaled 68
hits and averaged 12 runs per game in their four previous SCAC
Tournament games and came into the SCAC tournament ranked fifth in
the nation in runs scored. The Warriors pounded out 18 hits, which
included at least one hit by everyone in the lineup, and did most
of its damage thanks to a four run third inning and a four run
fourth inning.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #8
April 27-30,
2006
After Millsaps College forced a second and deciding game with an
18-10 victory over Trinity University on the final day of the SCAC
baseball tournament, rain caused the cancellation of the final,
creating a co-championship between the Millsaps and Trinity. It was
the first time since 1990 – when the league used a
round-robin format to determine its champion – that the
conference baseball tournament has ended with a split champion.
Ironically, the same schools that tied in 1990 are the same that
finished as co-champions on this occasion. With its eight baseball
titles, Millsaps equals Centre College for the most all-time
CAC/SCAC baseball championships.
By virtue of its better division record, Trinity is awarded the
league’s NCAA AQ. A few weeks later, Millsaps finds out it
has been awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #7
May 20,
1995
Millsaps College is selected to the 32-team field of the 1995 NCAA
Division III Baseball Championship. Millsaps’ selection marks
the first invitation for the school as well as the SCAC. The Majors
go 1-2 at the South Regional, defeating Bridgewater (Va.) 5-4 in 11
innings between bookend losses to N.C. Wesleyan (7-2 / 16-6).
BASEBALL - MOMENT #6
April 24-27, 2003
At the 2003 SCAC Baseball Championship, held in conjunction with
the Spring Sports Festival on the campus of Rose-Hulman Institute
of Technology, Millsaps College defeats Southwestern University,
11-8, in a 10-inning thriller to capture the SCAC baseball
championship. The Majors held an 8-5 lead entering the bottom of
the ninth, but Southwestern rallied for three to tie the game.
After knotting the score at eight, the Pirates had the bases loaded
with just one out but Millsaps freshman Tal Hendrix forced a
fielder’s choice ground out to second base and a fly out to
right field to cause extra innings - the first time (and only time
since) that the SCAC baseball title game has gone into extra
innings. The win gave the Majors their first SCAC baseball title
since 1994.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #5
April 21-23, 1994
At the 1994 SCAC Spring Sports Festival in Atlanta, Ga., Millsaps
College, with a 16-10 victory over Trinity University in
the championship game, wins its fifth straight conference
baseball title (third in the SCAC era). The championship
represents a new record for the Majors' baseball program, breaking
a 28-year old conference mark for consecutive baseball
championships which was held by Washington (Mo.) University who won
four titles from 1962-1966.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #4
April 25-28,
2002
Southwestern University sweeps through its four games on the
baseball diamond to earn its fifth league title in seven years at
the 2002 SCAC Baseball Championship played at Smith-Wills Stadium,
the minor league home of the Jackson Generals. The Pirates defeat
Trinity University, 8-2, in Sunday’s championship game.
Southwestern sophomore designated hitter Jeff Gabbert has one of
the more memorable tournaments in league history – going a
perfect 8-for-8 at the plate with four home runs, two doubles,
eight RBI and six runs scored in just two games.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #3
April 11, 2000
In a game against McMurry (Tex.) University, Southwestern
University senior Matt Gelotti becomes the NCAA Division III career
hits leader with a single in the fifth inning of a 13-12 win over
McMurry. Gelotti’s single broke the record previously held by
Methodist’s Jansen Evans, who totaled 297 hits from
1985-1988. Gelotti finished the day 4 for 4 with one home run, four
RBI’s, two runs scored and a walk. He reached base in each of
his five at bats. Gelotti finished his career with 327 hits and
still holds the Division III record for career hits. Gelotti
finished his career as the Division III all-time leader in hits
(327), doubles (73), triples (38), total bases (617), RBIs (285)
and is second all-time in at-bats (755), runs (263) and runs batted
in (285).
BASEBALL - MOMENT #2
April 22, 2011
Rhodes College and Oglethorpe University play in the longest
game in NCAA Division III history as the Lynx push across a run in
the top of the 21st inning and hold on and win 8-7 in game five of
the 2011 SCAC baseball tournament. The game features 35 hits, 31 of
them singles and the rest doubles. The teams combined to leave 48
runners on base (28 Oglethorpe, 20 Rhodes). Two relievers pitched
the equivalent of complete games, Oglethorpe’s Cory Leff
pitching 9.0 innings and Rhodes’ Hunter Chandler pitching 10
2/3 innings.
The score was 6-5 through three innings, but the teams combined for just four runs the next 18 innings. Oglethorpe pitchers combined to strikeout 27 batters during the marathon game. Trailing 7-6 in the top of the ninth, Rhodes' Travis Perkins struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch. He advanced to second on a Matt Cornwell balk before stealing third. With the Lynx down to their final out, Perkins took a gamble and caught Cornwell by surprise as he stole home with the tying run.
In the top of the 21st, Rhodes catcher Chris Conkell drew a walk and then was sacrificed to second. He then advanced to third on a ground out. Conkell scored the game winning run on an error by Oglethorpe pitcher Emmett Goodman. Conkell finished the game 2 for 8 with two RBI and the winning run. Teammate Lynden Pindling was 4 for 8 with two runs scored and an RBI.
BASEBALL - MOMENT #1
April 27,
2008
After Millsaps College forced a decisive second game against
Trinity University in the 2008 SCAC baseball title game on Sunday
with a 10-5 win in the opener, junior shortstop Stosh Hoover
delivered a two-out, two-RBI double to right-center in the bottom
of the ninth to cap a four-run ninth inning and propel the
top-seeded Tigers into the NCAA Tournament in one of the most
amazing championship game finishes in conference history.
Hoover hit .389 with four doubles, a triple, five RBI and two runs
scored during the tourney and senior right-hander Brian Oates went
10.0 innings and allowed just one run while striking out 13 in
Saturday’s 3-1, 11-inning victory over DePauw that propelled
Trinity into Sunday’s championship game.
For more on the top SCAC Baseball moment,
including interviews with Trinity University head coach Tim
Scannell and former Tiger shortstop Stosh Hoover, click here.