BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

Lou Brown · March 10, 2011, 10:22:30 PM

Petrels walk-off Bates College 10-9. It was more like Maine weather than Atlanta weather, but the southern team pulled it out with 3 runs in the 9th. Brendan Pilger is starting to heat up and getting back to the player he was last season before he broke his hand. Good win versus a very good Bates team.

Ron Boerger · March 11, 2011, 01:15:46 PM

Not the prettiest game but Trinity (17-2) gets past DeSales (3-3) 8-4 last night. Continuing a recent trend, the Tigers erupted for 7 runs early but then the bats went silent pretty much the rest of the way asKyle Felix' 2-run shot in the top of the second, his sixth HR, was Trinity's last hit until Kevin Jackson's RBI single with two out in the top of the eighth. DeSales pitchers notched ten strikeouts on the evening as DeSales outslugged Trinity 10-7.

Michael Panozzo (4-0) got the win, allowing 3 runs in 5-1/3. Noah Soloman pitched two innings, allowing one hit and getting out of a one out, bases loaded mess he inherited in the top of the sixth. Joshua Fink pitched 1-2/3 and got his first save.

Big series coming up in SA this weekend as the ever-dangerous gentlemen from Millsaps come to town for single games Saturday and Sunday.

Ron Boerger · March 12, 2011, 04:47:15 PM

Millsaps 2, Trinity 1 mid 8. Majors lead despite only 2 hits. TU w runners @ 1st .and 3rd and no outs.

Ron Boerger · March 12, 2011, 04:56:11 PM

2-2 after 8. Majors 6-7-8 up in 9th.

Ron Boerger · March 12, 2011, 05:24:32 PM

Majors manufacture 2 runs on 1 hit to take 4-2 lead.

Ron Boerger · March 12, 2011, 05:32:09 PM

2 run shot by Felix ties it. To the tenth.

Ron Boerger · March 12, 2011, 05:45:57 PM

Hawkins solo shot gives Majors 5-4 lead. Majors now up 7-4, no outs.

Ron Boerger · March 12, 2011, 05:48:23 PM

8-4 as the bottom of the order continues to pound it.

Ron Boerger · March 12, 2011, 06:50:45 PM

Millsaps puts 8 on the board in the top of the tenth and get a big win, 12-4. What a waste of a great outing by Ben Klimesh, who only gave up 2 hits and struck out 12 in 7 1/3. Klimesh was charged with two runs. Aaron Williams had a good outing for the Majors, allowing 7 hits and striking out seven himself in giving up only two runs, but Trinity could not get that key hit and stranded gobs of runners early.

frank_ezelle · March 12, 2011, 07:39:55 PM

A clutch pitching performance by two of the best SCAC pitchers. Clutch hitting by two of the best SCAC hitters. And a game that where the outcome really came down to one play here or there despite the deceptive 12-4 score.

Coming into this game, Millsaps was definitely the team that needed a win the most. At 17-2 prior to today, Trinity was rolling in every phase of the game and certainly deserved their high ranking. With an 11-5 record after starting out 7-0, Millsaps came into this game reeling just a bit and an 0-2 weekend in San Antonio would have been a difficult blow.

Tomorrow's game will be interesting with the two aces on the sideline. Lucero started last Wednesday's game for Trinity and I would expect him to start tomorrow. Millsaps seems likely to go with Elliot Varney or possibly Brandon Robinson. Outside of Klimesh and Williams, I suspect this is a game where everyone is available and we might see quite a string of pitchers if both teams get the bats going.

frank_ezelle · March 13, 2011, 10:43:30 AM

Saturday was a fairly decent day for the SCAC with a 4-2 record against outside competition:

---DePauw won 10-3 against Manchester and later in the day took a 9-1 win over Alma.
---Centre silenced the Hanover bats with wins of 5-0 and 4-1.
---Rhodes fell 3-2 in a neutral site game with Heidelberg (game was in Port Charlotte, FL)
---Sewanee also lost at a neutral site, falling 7-3 to Drew (game played in Lakeland, FL)

In league play we know that Millsaps got the win over Trinity. The only other league action was a split between visiting Southwestern and Hendrix. Hendrix took the opener 5-4 and Southwestern even the series with a 10-8 win in the second game.

While the SCAC East hasn't started league play yet, the SCAC West is starting to separate a little as we near the midway mark. Millsaps holds a slight lead over Trinity with a 7-1 mark vs 6-2. Southwestern is a half game up on Hendrix at 4-5 compared to 4-6. Austin, a team that looked pretty good to me against Millsaps, is struggling right now with a 1-8 record in the conference.

There are 7 games on tap for today and you can find all the links and info at the link below. DePauw already has their work cut out for them as they have fallen behind 9-0 with Manchester still batting in the top of the 2nd. Here's that link:

http://www.scacsports.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/schedule

Ron Boerger · March 13, 2011, 03:52:36 PM

Totally different picture in San Antonio today as Trinity gets an easy 10-0 win in seven. Noah Soloman (3-0) goes the entire way for the Tigers, allowing three hits and striking out nine. Nick Pappas was 2-for-2 with a double, a triple, scored twice and knocked in two. Will Hawkins had two hits and two stolen bases for the Majors. Elliot Varney (1-2) started for Millsaps and picked up the loss, allowing three runs in 2 and 1/3 innings.

frank_ezelle · March 13, 2011, 05:00:12 PM

Considering how well Trinity is playing and how poorly Millsaps has been hitting, a split in San Antonio was a very good result for Millsaps.

Millsaps has two games with Illinois Wesleyan this week plus they host their Spring Break baseball camp. Maybe being around all the kids and having fun with the camp will be the key to some of the guys relaxing at the plate. There's still a lot of the season left to play, and a lot of potential upside with this Millsaps team.

Ron Boerger · March 14, 2011, 09:46:06 AM

Frank, while Millsaps may have had problems getting hits this weekend (with the exception of that tenth inning - LOL), I was very impressed by their heady play on the base paths. Your coaches and team play a very smart game. That's probably nothing new, but it was the first chance I had to see them in person.

infielddad · March 14, 2011, 02:37:45 PM

Ron,
In my view, Jim Page of Millsaps is one of the best coaches in college baseball, not just DIII baseball. We got to see that way too many times!

Coach Scannell is right there with him.
Trinity/Millsaps games are played at an intensity level up there with the best in college baseball. Little doubt where that intensity level originates in each dugout.