February 29, 2008

LaGRANGE, Ga. – Senior southpaw Travis Bogue went six innings and allowed just three runs to earn the win for Millsaps and move his season record to 2-2 and the Majors' offense put up a seven-spot in the third inning to hold off LaGrange 10-7 at Cleaveland Field in the opening game of a three-game series.

Millsaps sent 13 runners to the plate in the decisive third inning, putting the first eight runners on base successfully and chasing Panthers starter Cody Belt after only 2.2 innings of work and Seth Harris, who walked the only two batters he faced in the frame.

Justin Phelps then relieved Harris and got the final out of the inning to kill the rally, holding the Majors in check the next 4.2 innings and hanging zeros on the board in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Facing an 8-2 deficit heading into the bottom of the seventh after scoring a pair of runs in the fifth, LaGrange put together a five-run rally to get within one at 8-7, jumping all over sophomore Andrew Fleming who relieved Bogue after walking the leadoff batter.

Fleming struggled to find the strike zone for Millsaps and recorded just one out, walking the first batter he faced and then giving up an infield single to load the bases before surrendering a pair of runs off a balk and a wild pitch.

Junior closer Drew Maddox relieved Fleming and was welcomed with an RBI-single from Patrick Langley, conceding two more runs that were Fleming’s runners before getting out of the inning on a strikeout.

Maddox then retired six of the final eight batters he faced over the next two innings to pick up his second save of the year in addition to Millsaps scoring single insurance runs in the eighth and ninth off a pair of RBI-singles from Hunter Owen and Tait Hendrix.

Four Majors recorded multiple hits, led by Owen who went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, while Langley led all players with three hits for LaGrange in five at-bats.

The teams will continue a three-game set tomorrow at Cleaveland Field with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and can be heard live on Jackson’s ESPN Radio 1240 AM and online at www.espnradio1240.com. The series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.