Courtesy of Centre College
April 26, 2008

DANVILLE, Ky. – With its backs against the wall for a second-straight weekend after falling in the opening game of the SCAC Baseball Tournament on Friday to Trinity, Millsaps received two complete-game performances from freshman Aaron Williams and junior Tait Hendrix to knock off Southwestern 13-2 and 19th-ranked DePauw 7-0 and advance to the Championship Game for the fourth-straight year on Sunday.

(vs Southwestern) After falling behind by a run early, the Majors exploded for 13 runs on 16 hits to defeat Southwestern University 13-2 in an elimination game in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament (SCAC) Saturday, April 26 at Gary Wright Field in Danville, Ky.

The Pirates struck early on a run-scoring single by Richard Falcone to take 1-0 lead. The lead was short-lived as the Majors answered with two runs in each of the next three innings to go ahead 6-1.

Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth, but Millsaps added another run in the sixth and three in the top of the seventh, all on solo home runs by Will Hawkins, Quinn Salmon and Hunter Abrams.

The Pirates scored one in the bottom of the seventh but surrendered three in the top of the eighth to trigger the run-rule and end the game after eight innings.

Millsaps starting pitcher Aaron Williams (5-2) went the distance allowing only two-earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Kyle Belski started for Southwestern and lasted only three innings. Belski surrendered six runs - five earned on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks to fall to 3-5 on the year.

Abrams, Hawkins and Derrik Boland all had three hits apiece for the Majors. Abrams was 3-for-6 with two runs scored and two driven in, Boland went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs and Hawkins finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four more driven in. Seven different players had one hit for the Pirates in the loss.

(vs DePauw) Millsaps advanced to play 19th-ranked DePauw in the nightcap after knocking off Southwestern in an elimination game, where Hendrix threw a complete-game shutout and the Majors' two through five hitters combined to go 10-for-17 with six runs scored and four driven in.

The Majors struck in the first inning when Hawkins doubled to left-center with two outs scoring both Owen and Boland for an early 2-0 lead.

Millsaps added to its lead in the third. Hawkins again doubled scoring Boland and Abrams to push the lead to 4-0. A run in the fifth and two more in the sixth by the Majors was more than enough for Hendrix (6-4), who scattered eight hits over nine innings with only one walk and shattered his previous career-high of nine strikeouts with 15.

Aaron Meyers took the loss for DePauw allowing five runs on nine hits over four innings. Meyers walked one and struck out four in falling to 6-2 on the season.

Abrams and Boland finished with three hits and two runs scored each, with Abrams' single up the middle in the eighth moving him into first all-time on Millsaps' career hit list with 237 hits in front of former teammate Jason Hadley who recorded 236 from 2004-07. Owen and Hawkins added two hits apiece with Owen scoring a pair of runs and Hawkins driving in three. Matt Kleine and Jeremy Dickinson had two hits each for the Tigers in the loss.

Millsaps will meet Trinity University on Sunday for the 2008 SCAC Title at 11 a.m. ET. The Majors will have to knock off the Tigers twice to earn the automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals set to be announced on Sunday, May 11th.