JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps baseball program took down top-ranked Birmingham-Southern, 2-0 in Game Two at Twenty Field on Saturday. Holding No. 1 status in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll, BSC claimed Game One, 8-1.
Game 1: 8-1, L
The Majors and Panthers battled late into the opening game, which saw BSC pull away with five ninth inning runs.
Freshman starting pitcher Stewart Bonnecaze held the Panthers to two earned runs, four hits and two walks, while striking out five batters in 5.1 IP.
Graduate Chris Hart (Brandon, Miss.) tallied a hit and an RBI as the BSC pitching held the Majors to three base knocks.
Bonnecaze kept the Panthers in check until the fourth inning when a leadoff, bunt single and throwing error put the runner in scoring position. A ground out and sacrifice fly made it 1-0 for the visitors. BSC added two more tallies in the fifth with a bases-loaded, 2-RBI single up the middle.
The Majors led off the third with back-to-back hit by pitches and singled twice in the sixth, but the Panther pitching held tough. BSC tacked on five more runs in the top of the ninth to push their advantage to 8-1, and held on defensively in the bottom of the frame.
Game 2: 2-0, W (7 inn.)
The Majors responded in Game Two by defeating the nation's top-ranked team for the first time since March 4, 2017, when Millsaps downed Emory, 17-4.
Senior Wil Wood, a member of the 2022 All-SAA First Team, tossed a complete, seven-inning gem. Wood held the Panthers scoreless and struck out six batters, while yielding just two walks and three hits.
Junior Jackson Ware batted 1-for-2 with an RBI, while senior Sam Pitre scored a run and walked twice. Classmate Austin Arceneaux went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Millsaps (15-13, 6-5 SAA) tallied the contest's opening run after Pitre walked in the first inning. A pair of singles, including Ware's RBI hit made it a 1-0 lead by plating Pitre.
The BSC pitching held in the second when the Majors loaded the bases with two outs. BSC (26-3, 9-2 SAA) didn't record its first hit until the fourth.
The Panthers threatened in the top of the sixth after placing a runner in scoring position after an error and steal of second. A Wood strikeout, followed by a fly out and a line out ended the opportunity.
Millsaps was able to an insurance marker in their half of the sixth. Arceneaux reached via an error and was bunted into scoring position moments later. A second error in the inning caused by Millsaps senior Branyan Bounds brought Arceneaux home for a 2-0 edge.
BSC opened the seventh and final inning of the conference contest with a walk looking to battle back. A pop up and 6-4-3 double play ended the game as Wood was mobbed by his jubilant teammates.
Millsaps and BSC will square off in the rubber match, beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday. Live video and stats will be available at gomajors.com.
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