SUWANEE, Ga. - Multiple pitching performances stood out during the week as Rhodes' Matt Burnick, Centre's Joe Nash and Trinity's Ben Klimesh all displayed dominant efforts on the mound during the week of March 12-18.
Burnick was named SCAC Pitcher of the Week after throwing a 9-inning complete game against Denison. He scattered six singles and struck out seven. Nash threw a complete game while earning a win over sixth-ranked Rowan. Nash struck out two and yielded just two earned runs. Klimesh rounded out the pitching gems by tallying 14 strikeouts in his eight innings of work in a 7-1 win over Austin College.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College (4-15, 1-7 SCAC) went 1-2 on the
week beating LeTourneau in a non-conference matchup (7-6) before
dropping two SCAC games to #3 Trinity (7-1/4-1) over the weekend.
Against LeTourneau, John Schulmeister led the Kangaroos as he was 4
for 5 with five RBI and hit for the cycle in the win. The
‘Roos return to action on March 19 and 20 when they take on
Manhattan Christian.
Birmingham-Southern went 3-0 this week, extending its
current win streak to eight games by sweeping Maryville (Tenn.) on
the road in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday. Junior
Bruce Maxwell hit two home runs and led with four RBI this week.
Seven different pitchers saw action, led by senior Jesse Meier who
threw seven innings in game three while giving up only four hits
and no runs. The pitching staff combined for a 1.12 ERA and a .207
allowed batting average. BSC returns home this week, facing Hendrix
on Tuesday and Wednesday and Berry on Saturday and
Sunday.
Centre went 1-2 on the week in three games against top 20
programs. The Colonels fell 9-5 to No. 19 Thomas More Wednesday
before heading south for their annual spring break trip. Against
No. 6 Rowan at Piedmont on Saturday, Centre rallied from a 2-0
deficit early in the game to win 7-2 in its first win over a ranked
opponent since a 4-2 win over Millsaps in 2009. One day later, the
Colonels led 3-0 against No. 7 Piedmont, but fell 5-3 to the Lions.
Centre, now 9-9 overall, will play No. 7 Piedmont again Monday,
followed by a single game each Tuesday and Wednesday against
Lagrange. The Colonels will then open its conference season
Saturday and Sunday against SCAC preseason Eastern Division
favorite Rhodes.
Dallas (12-8, 3-5 SCAC) went 1-1 on the week. On Tuesday,
the Crusaders fell 4-3 (F/9) to Texas-Dallas in Richardson, Texas.
Dallas was able to snap a four game losing-skid when they took down
Arlington Baptist College 12-1 (F/9) on Thursday at Rangers'
Ballpark in Arlington. Notable fetes versus the Patriots included a
successful triple-steal (Devin Arnold stole home) and a two RBI
squeeze play. This week, the Crusaders will host Texas Wesleyan
University before venturing out to San Antonio for a three-game
series with Trinity University.
Hendrix had a balanced attack of hitting and pitching and
went 3-0 on the week. They recorded double digit hits and runs in
all three games and allowed four or less runs in each. Also
sixth-year head coach R.J. Thomas earned his 100th career win and
needs just four more wins to pass Jim Holland’s program
record of 103. Hendrix opened the week with a 14-2 victory over
Ozarks at home on Wednesday. Senior first baseman Mark Vlaskamp
went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and senior second baseman Clark
Sims was 3-for-5 with a double. Hendrix returned to SCAC play with
a 10-4 win against Southwestern on Saturday. Sims went 3-for-5
again and scored twice. Senior right fielder Nathan Harr extended
his hitting streak to 17-games with a double. Hendrix ended the
week with a 11-1 seven-inning win over the Pirates. Sims hit a
triple, walked three times and scored four runs. Sophomore Nino
Tutino earned the win by fanning three in 2.1 innings of relief.
The Warriors are now 8-0 at home on the year and have won 11 of
their last 12 games. Hendrix will travel to Birmingham-Southern for
games on Tuesday and Wednesday, then return home for a three-game
set against Austin beginning on Saturday.
Millsaps got back on track this week as they
took two out of three from LaGrange. Things didn’t start off
well for Millsaps as their struggles continued in Game One of the
three game series. The Panthers got three runs early on and added
two more later in the game as they got a dominant performance from
starter Robby Williams to defeat Millsaps 5-1. In Game Two, the duo
of junior Wes Perkins and senior Ryan Zemke had a huge day
offensively as they combined to drive in seven runs on the day to
lead Millsaps to a 9-7 win over LaGrange on Saturday afternoon with
the rubber match to come on Sunday. The Majors finished their
weekend trip to Georgia with a bang as they pounded 17 hits on the
day to cruise to a 10-0 win over the LaGrange Panthers. Seven
Majors recorded multi-hit games as junior Will Elmore pitched a
complete game gem to earn his first win of the season. The Majors
clinch the series and improve to 12-8 on the season. They return
home on Tuesday as they welcome in the Huntingdon Hawks to Twenty
Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
Oglethorpe dropped its only two contests of the week,
losing at home to Covenant 15-6 on Tuesday and in Orlando to Ramapo
21-6. On spring break, Oglethorpe will continue action this week
against Amherst College and Washington and Jefferson before
returning home for a weekend series with Millsaps. The Petrels are
currently 6-10 on the season.
Rhodes went 5-0 during the week of March 12– 18,
playing all five games in the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte,
Fla. Rhodes opened the weekend with a 6-4 victory over #12
Heidelberg on Monday, then defeated Denison 6-0 on Tuesday. After
taking Wednesday off, the Lynx defeated Utica and Ohio Wesleyan on
Thursday, 10-2 and 6-3, respectively. The final game of the spring
trip was a 2-1 victory over Wooster. Rhodes will open SCAC play
this weekend as they travel to Danville, Ky. for a three game set
against Centre.
Sewanee opened last week with a pair of convincing
victories at Rust College. The Tigers earned a 14-1 win and a 32-4
victory. Over the weekend, Sewanee opened its spring break trip in
Florida at the Russ Matt Invitational. The Tigers dropped a 6-4
decision against New Jersey City University and then loss to
Clarkson University by a score of 16-4. Individually, Blake
Williams had four hits in five at bats against Rust. On the mound,
freshman Marshall Ussery earned his first win while classmate
Charles Warren also picked up a victory over the week. This week,
the Tigers will continue their Florida swing with five more games.
Southwestern dropped three games during Spring Break to
fall to 6-17 on the season and 2-6 in the SCAC. Tuesday, SU
ventured to Brownwood, Texas to take on Howard Payne for one game.
The Pirates posted six hits in the contest but couldn't link them
together as they were held scoreless to lose 4-0. Cruz Luna led
with two hits while Cray Betts went 1-2 from the plate and drew two
walks. Over the weekend Southwestern dove back into SCAC conference
action, taking on Hendrix in Conway, AR for two games in two days.
The Warriors' offense was hot and hammered out 21 hits to generate
21 runs. Once again Southwestern's bats were solid, pounding out 13
hits, but only generated five runs in the process. Nate Shipp had a
strong weekend at the plate, posting a .600 batting average with
three hits in five at bats including a triple and homerun.
Southwestern looks to return to their winning ways as they return
home to face Hardin Simmons University on Tuesday.
No. 1 Trinity swept its SCAC road doubleheader at Austin
College over the weekend, winning 7-1 and 4-1 over the ‘Roos
to remain unbeaten in conference play. The Tigers improved to 19-3
with the victories, and the team has won six of its past seven
games against Austin over the past two years. Starting pitcher Ben
Klimesh became just the second player in SCAC history to reach 300
career strikeouts, after punching out 14 batters in
Saturday’s win over Austin. It was the fifth time this season
that Klimesh has struck out 13 or more batters in a game. Klimesh
is currently third on Trinity’s all-time list, trailing SCAC
record-holder Mike Frost (310) and Trinity Athletics Hall of Famer
Paul Stanley (342). The Tigers will face Texas Lutheran University
on Tuesday afternoon, then Trinity will continue its bid for the
top seed in the SCAC West Division this weekend, hosting the
University of Dallas in a three-game series. The Tigers beat
Dallas 12-1 and 5-0 in Irving, Texas, earlier this season.
Last year, Trinity split with Texas Lutheran, with each team
winning at home.
For the complete SCAC Baseball Diamond Weekly for
Week 7, click here.
