MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Rhodes and Oglethorpe played what is believed to be the longest game in NCAA Division III history as the Lynx pushed across a run in the top of the 21st inning and edged by the Stormy Petrels, 8-7 nearly seven hours after the game's first pitch.
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Hendrix vs. Millsaps Recap
Juniors Clark Sims and Kyle Raskin combined to go 5-for-8 with four runs scored and seven RBI to keep Hendrix College alive in the 2011 SCAC Tournament after a 12-5 victory over Millsaps College on Friday at USA Stadium. Box Score

Sims finished 3-for-4 with two walks, four runs scored and three stolen bases, while Raskin went 2-for-5, including a big three-run double in the sixth, and finished with five RBI.

Hendrix lit up the scoreboard in its first at bat when Sims led off with a walk, stole second, tagged up on a fly out to right, and crossed the plate on first year Jacob Perschke's single up the middle.

Warriors' first year right-hander Thomas Weber started on the hill and stranded four base runners to open with three shutout innings. Millsaps eventually knotted the game in the fourth when senior Josh Ordeneaux led off with a walk and raced around on a double to right by junior Trey Rountree.

Hendrix was held scoreless in the second, third and fourth before the Warriors rallied for four runs in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. Junior Aaron Bowen was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, first year Nick Richardson then reached on an error and Sims scored Bowen with a base knock to left. First year Collin Radack clobbered a clutch triple to center to clear the bases. Junior Andrew Thames stepped up with two outs and drove in Radack with a single to left field.

The Warriors added three runs in the sixth when Richardson took a leadoff walk, Sims reached with his second hit of the game, Radack juiced the bases with a free pass and then Raskin hammered the bases clearing double to left field.

Hendrix tacked on three more runs in the seventh to take a commanding 11-3 lead when junior Mark Vlaskamp was hit by a pitch, replaced by first year Austin Womack as the pinch runner, Bowen followed with a bunt single. Womack scored on an error by the shortstop in Sims at bat, and Raskin sent two more runs across with a base knock to center field. 

Hendrix took a 12-4 advantage in the top of the eighth when Thames single to right center, stole second, and sprinted home on an RBI single down the left field line from senior Jeff Forgerson.

All five of the Majors runs scored after reaching via the free pass. Junior Jules Roussell and senior Will Hawkins scored in the fifth after being hit by a pitch. Roussell walked and eventually scored on a single from Ordeneaux in the seventh. Junior Drew Leonard scored the Majors' final run after walking in the eighth.

Millsaps was paced offensively by Ordeneaux and Jake Mills as the duo were the only two Majors to post multi-hit games. Ordeneaux was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored while Mills also was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Weber picked up the victory and improved to 2-1 on the year after allowing just one earned run in 5.0 innings. He walked just one batter and struck out four. Seniors Jordan Suydam and Gabe Leven combined for the middle 3.0 innings and junior Drew Gustafson closed the door with a strikeout in the ninth.

Senior Aaron Williams was pinned with the loss, falling to 6-3, after 4.2 innings, four hits, three earned runs, four walks and three strikeouts.

Hendrix improves to 16-20 on the year and 3-3 against Millsaps in 2011. The Warriors now own a 2-0 record against the Majors in SCAC Tourney play as Hendrix eliminated Millsaps with a 9-8 win in their 2009 SCAC Championship run. Millsaps falls to 24-18 on the season. With the loss, the Majors have now gone 0-2 in two of the three previous SCAC tournaments. The previous time they went 0-2 in conference postseason play was 2009.

The Warriors will now face the loser of game six between #2 East DePauw vs. #1 West Trinity, or #3 East Oglethorpe if the Stormy Petrels upset #1 East Rhodes in game five of the tournament.

Rhodes vs. Oglethorpe Recap
It took 6 hours, 50 minutes, and 21 innings, but Rhodes finally defeated Oglethorpe 8-7 in the SCAC tournament. Box Score | Official Site

Rhodes advances to play the winner of DePauw and Trinity, scheduled to start immediately following the marathon. It's believed to be the longest game in Division III baseball history.

The game featured 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, one going 9 innings and the other, Rhodes' Hunter Chandler, going 10 2/3 innings.

The SCAC produced audio interviews with Rhodes coach Jeff Cleanthes and Chandler, as well as Oglethorpe coach Dan Giordano. Click the links to listen.

The Rhodes bullpen had been spared in a first-round win against Hendrix, as Austin Carden picked up the complete-game win.

Oglethorpe pitchers combined to strike out 27 Rhodes batters, and lost.

The score was 6-5 through three innings, but the teams combined for just four runs the next 18 innings.

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.

DePauw vs. Trinity Recap
Trinity overcame a five-hour delay to earn a hard-fought 7-4 win over DePauw University at the SCAC Tournament on Friday night at USA Baseball Stadium. Box Score

Trinity now stands 31-11 on the season, and will move on in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament. In other SCAC Tournament action, Hendrix defeated Millsaps in an elimination game, and Rhodes outlasted Oglethorpe 8-7 in a marathon game.

That Rhodes/Oglethorpe game turned out to be a 21-inning affair that lasted nearly seven hours before Rhodes was able to score the eventual game-winner in the top of the 21st inning. The game is believed to be at least a tie for the longest in Division III history.

That lengthy game forced Trinity and DePauw to start the final game of the day at 11:50 p.m., getting it started just before the clock turned over to Saturday morning.

DePauw overcame the effects of the layoff very quickly, scoring runs in the first and second innings to take an early 2-0 lead. Trinity's bats finally woke up in the third inning, sparked by a leadoff single from Kevin Clements, and finished off with a two-run home run by Nick Pappas. 

The long ball from Pappas made it a four-run inning that put Trinity out in front for good. The Trinity Tigers added runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh to go ahead 7-2 before DePauw finally got back on track offensively. 

DePauw scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, after loading the bases with nobody out. In the eighth, the DePauw Tigers did the same thing by putting three runners aboard with no outs. Trinity got a strikeout, followed by an inning-ending double play that kept the lead at three runs.

Kevin Jackson was 3-5 with three runs and two RBI in the game, including his first home run of the season. Pappas ended up 1-3 with three RBI, while Kevin Calbick was 2-4 with a run scored. Dominick Robusto and Clements also had two hits each for the Trinity Tiger offense.

Noah Solomon (5-2) earned the win, going six strong innings, giving up four runs on six hits, and striking out five batters. After allowing a solo homer in the first, and an RBI single in the second, Solomon retired 12 consecutive batters to keep Trinity in the game, before being lifted in the seventh.

Franklin Bay earned his first save of the season, as he was one of three Trinity relievers to come in during the final innings.

Trinity will meet Rhodes tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. with the winner moving on to Sunday's SCAC Championship game. The game was originally scheduled for noon, but was moved back because the Trinity/DePauw game finished so late.