April 30, 2007

GEORGETOWN, Texas -- For the first time since 2002 the Millsaps Majors and the Trinity Tigers will not hoist the SCAC Baseball Tournament Trophy, as conference newcomer Austin College defeated Millsaps in Sunday's championship game at Rockwell Field to claim this year's title and earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Regionals.

Austin College (22-23) jumped out to a big lead after five innings on well-timed hitting, fought back from a 7-6 deficit in the seventh and plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth to snap a 7-7 tie and edge the 15th-ranked Majors, 9-7.

Millsaps (35-11) erased a 5-0 deficit with a four-run sixth and a three-run seventh, using a Jason Hadley double to leadoff the sixth followed by an RBI-double from Hunter Owen, an RBI-single from Hunter Abrams, an RBI-single from Derrik Boland and an RBI-groundout from Luke Morrow that cut the lead to 5-4.

After the 'Roos plated a single run in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 6-4, the Majors grabbed their first lead of the game at 7-6 when Owen launched his 23rd double of the season in the right centerfield gap to score Hadley and Russ Boyd and Abrams hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Justin Carter from third.

Austin knotted the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the frame when pinch hitter Scott Cottingham grounded out to Abrams at third to score teammate Patrick Ray. Ray reached base safely on a leadoff single, advanced to second on a Scooter Means groundout and advanced to third on a Bobby Osburn wild pitch to put him in scoring position.

Will Chermak, Austin's starting pitcher who picked up the 14-5 win over Millsaps on Friday, relieved Justin Frost in the bottom of the eighth for the 'Roos, retiring six of the final seven batters he faced in two scoreless innings to pick up his seventh victory.

Travis Bogue, the big left-hander who entered in the ninth to relieve Osburn, fell to 7-3 on the year after surrendering a pair of runs on a John Reisig RBI-single and a wild pitch.

Bogue retired the first two batters he faced, forcing Bennett Herrick to fly out to center and George Scheible to go down on strikes before Matt Finke reached base safely on a dribbler to the third base line that appeared to have hit off his knee and into fair territory.

Millsaps head coach Jim Page immediately trotted out onto the field to argue the call, nontheless the play stood as called and two batters later Finke crossed the plate on Reisig's single for the game-winning run.

Millsaps and Rhodes must now await a Pool C at-large bid, based on the Regional Rankings that will be released later this week by the NCAA, to see if either team will join Austin College in the Division III Regionals.