MAJORS LOSE TO SOUTHWESTERN ON EIGHTH-INNING GRAND SLAM

The Millsaps Majors lost the lead and the game on Friday (4/23/04) as Southwestern's Ryan Bellomy belted a Tal Hendrix curveball over the right-field wall for a two-out, eighth inning grand slam in the Pirates' 9-5 victory in the 2004 SCAC tournament. Millsaps (33-8) will face the loser of tonight's Rose-Hulman-Trinity game in an elimination contest at 11:00am (EDT) on Saturday. Southwestern avoided elimination and will play Oglethorpe at 3:00pm on Saturday.

Southwestern took the early lead by scoring two unearned runs, thanks to a Millsaps error, in the first. Millsaps cut the deficit in half when Matt Renna led off the third with a homer to right.

Things looked bright for the Majors as they scored four more in the sixth for a 5-2 advantage. The Majors took advantage of two Pirate errors in the inning as three of the runs were unearned. The big blow was a Renna two-RBI double to left. Ryan Skertich and Scott Staines also knocked in runs with a sac fly and single, respectively.

The Pirates came right back in their half of the sixth to make it a 5-4 ball game. The runs scored on a Mascorro sac fly and a Paton RBI single.

It stayed that way until the decisive eighth. Hendrix replaced starter and loser John Fox (6-2) with runners on first and second and one out. Paton greeted Hendrix with a first-pitch single to center, but pinch-runner Chris Ray got a late jump and did not score. With the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Berger bounced a high chopper to third-baseman Staines, who fired to the plate. Ray was called safe on a bang-bang play and the score was tied at five. The next hitter popped to short to set the stage for Bellomy's heroics.

Fox pitched effectively, scattering seven hits, striking out seven, and allowing four earned runs. Pirate starter Matt Culling went five plus innings, allowing two runs on four hits. McColl pitched the sixth and allowed three unearned runs. Winner Andy Morrison (7-1) was outstanding as he shut down the Majors with three scoreless innings of one-hit ball.

Renna (2 for 5, two runs scored, three RBI) and Staines (2 for 3, RBI) led the Millsaps attack. Bellomy (1 for 5, two runs scored, game-winning slam), Odom (3 for 4, two runs scored, RBI), Wiley (2 for 2, RBI), and Paton (2 for 4, RBI) paced the Pirates.