BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The Berry College Vikings (22-16-1) defeated the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels (25-14), 10-3, in the first round of the Southern Athletic Association tournament. The Vikings exploded in the second inning by tallying seven runs.

Ben Jernigan (5-5) kept the Petrel offense quiet by tossing a complete game. He allowed six hits with three runs. He did not surrender a walk and struck out seven batters.

Offensively for BC, five different players had multi-hit games. Jernigan helped himself by leading the teams in hits and RBIs. He finished with a double and two singles in the game. Alex McGill went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Alfred Francis and Grant Perkins each tacked on a pair of base hits while driving in a RBI and scoring twice. Ryan Smith contributed two singles while picking up a RBI and a run.

For Oglethorpe, Keith Dearden led the team by going 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI, and two runs scored.

Berry plays top-seed and host Birmingham-Southern on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. EDT.