Suwanee, Ga. - Millsaps College became the final Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference team to suffer a loss as the Majors missed out on a chance to sweep SCAC rival Southwestern University over the weekend. Millsaps sits at 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the SCAC.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College dropped four
straight heartbreakers last week, first falling 5-4 to Arlington
Baptist after leading 4-1 heading into the sixth and then dropping
three games by narrow margins to SCAC foe Hendrix over the weekend.
The ‘Roos fell in 3-0 holes in all three games against the
Warriors, falling 8-3 in 10 innings in the first game, 4-2 in game
two and 3-1 in the series finale on Sunday. The ‘Roos got
strong pitching performances from starters Tyler Seed, Matt Burke
and Christian Curtis against Hendrix. Steed went 9.0 innings and
got a no decision after striking out eight hitters and scattering
seven hits in the extra innings affair while Burke allowed zero
unearned runs in a complete game performance in game two. The
‘Roos will be looking to break into the win column when they
host Bates College for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Birmingham-Southern (No. 9 – ABCA) went 4-0
this week, all away from home, winning every game by seven or more
runs. BSC defeated LaGrange College (10-0), Virginia Wesleyan
(8-1), Lynchburg College (15-3), and Piedmont College (12-4).
Senior Drew Leachman led at the plate, going 8-of-18 (.444), while
senior Sam Hill and sophomore Bruce Maxwell led with eight RBIs
apiece. The Panthers also committed only one error over the four
games for a team fielding percentage of .994. So far this season,
BSC has more than doubled the runs of its opponents, out-scoring
them 94-46 and out-hitting them 109-87. The Panthers are on the
road again this weekend, traveling to face Loyola-New Orleans for a
three-game series, Saturday & Sunday.
Centre dropped its first three games of the
season to NCAA Division III member Urbana University. The Colonels
fell 4-1 and 8-2 in Saturday’s doubleheader and then lost 8-6
in Sunday’s series finale. Centre struggled offensively all
weekend mustering only 12 hits in the three games. While the
pitching allowed only nine earned runs on the weekend, the defense
committed 10 errors, which led to 11 unearned runs. Centre will
return to action Saturday, Feb. 26 with a home doubleheader against
the College of Mount St. Joseph.
DePauw opened the 2011 season at Maryville (Tenn.) and came away with a 1-2 record. The Tigers opened with a 6-0 win over Maryville before losing the nightcap on Saturday by a 3-0 score and dropping a 2-0 decision on Sunday. In the season opener, DePauw pitchers Elliott Ross and Andy Manson combined for a four-hit shutout. The Tigers wasted little time in getting on the board in the first inning as Ben Gardner scored on Zach Galyean's sacrifice fly. Rob McPike's two-run homer in the third made it 3-0 and Aaron Henry scored on. DePauw added two more in the seventh. In the nightcap, the Tigers left five runners stranded over the first three innings and three over the final two in suffering the loss. Maryville scored single runs in the first, fourth and eighth innings. In the series finale, DePauw was held to four hits and Maryville scored both of its runs in the second. The Tigers' best scoring opportunity came in the fourth when they had a runner thrown out at the plate attempting to score from second on a single.
Millsaps got a Tuesday night win over cross-town rival Mississippi College before taking two-of-three from Southwestern to open conference play. The #15 Choctaws stranded 18 against the Majors and walked in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Majors the 8-7 win. Millsaps swept the opening double-header at Southwestern 13-3 and 5-4, but couldn't complete the sweep on Sunday falling 7-6. Game two was more balanced, requiring extra innings to determine the winner. The Pirates walked Will Hawkins to lead off the tenth and then put him on second with a wild pitch. Mills got him to third on a grounder to the shortstop and Ryan Zemke got him home with a single to right. Jason Riggins held firm in the bottom half of the inning. He got Gavrel to pop out in foul territory for the first out, and then got Gregory Thumm to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game. The Majors will have four games at Piedmont College this weekend, two against the Lions and two neutral site games with the Adrian College Bulldogs.
Oglethorpe went 2-1 this past week with home wins over Piedmont (W, 10-8) and Washington & Lee (W, 10-6) and a loss at LaGrange (L, 2-1). Oglethorpe dropped a pitchers dual at LaGrange on Wednesday, 2-1. Though he suffered the loss, Oglethorpe starter Sam Briend pitched very well. He recorded a complete game, allowing just one earned run on four hits. He walked four and struck out six. The Petrels scored their lone run of the game in the sixth. Shortstop Matt Cornwell led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by second baseman Jake Spear. Two batters later, first baseman Adam Brazenas singled Cornwell home with the Petrels' only run. The Petrels jumped out to a big lead against Washington and Lee and made it hold up for the win on Sunday. This gave starting pitcher Mark Hoban plenty of room to work with. He gave up four runs, three of them in the seventh, but still had a six-run lead at the end of his day. He eventually got the win, his first of the year. Over his six-plus innings of work, he allowed nine hits, walked one and struck out eight. OU returns to action Tuesday, when Huntingdon comes to Anderson Field for the first doubleheader of the season at 3 p.m.
Rhodes split a weekend series with #15 Mississippi College. The Lynx dropped an 11-1 game on Friday but rebounded in dramatic fashion to split the series with a 12-10 win in the weekend’s final game. Freshman second baseman Stewart Martens, who came into the game as a defensive replacement, drilled a 2-1 pitch deep over the left field scoreboard for a walk-off grand slam to propel the Lynx to the 12-10 win. There were two outs in the ninth inning when Martens connected. He finished the game 1-2 with a home run and four RBI. Rhodes is now 2-5 on the season and is back in action Feb 25 at home against Emory. The Lynx also host 12th-ranked Marietta at USA Stadium in Millington on Feb 26 then host Maryville (Tenn.) on Sunday.
Sewanee dropped both games of a doubleheader Saturday as they opened the 2011 season with an 11-1 loss and a 10-6 loss to host LaGrange. Connor Liston led the Tigers with three hits and two RBIs in eight plate appearances on the day. The Tigers got on the board first in the opener when Franklin Pogue scored an unearned run after reaching base on a throwing error in the second inning. Sewanee finished the top of the doubleheader with four hits and one run, while LaGrange tallied 11 hits to go along with their 11 runs. While the Tigers were able to find more offense in the second contest, the outcome was still the same, as Sewanee dropped a 10-6 decision to the Panthers. The Tigers got three runs in the top of the ninth, but it was too late, as LaGrange walked away with a 10-6 victory. Sewanee is now 0-2 on the season and will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Maryville College for a single contest at 4 p.m.
No. 20 Trinity played its first road games of the season last week, emerging with a 4-0 record and two double-digit wins for the week, and improving the team’s overall record to 8-1. The Tigers began the week with a 16-5 win at Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday, then played a three-game weekend series at Sul Ross. Trinity won 16-10 in the opener, then Mike Panozzo tossed a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 win on Saturday. The series finale was a 19-8 win by the Tigers, which is the highest scoring output of the season. Trinity returns home this weekend, facing off against Hendrix in a three-game SCAC series. That opens a stretch in which the Tigers will play nine out of its next 11 games at home. Last year against Hendrix, Trinity lost three out of five games to lose the regular season series, but did win the final two games against the Warriors.
For the complete SCAC Diamond Weekly for Week 3, click here.
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