GEORGETOWN, Texas -In their conference opener the Southwestern Pirates baseball team fell 13-3 before losing a heartbreaker in 10 innings, 5-4 in game two.
The Millsaps Majors took the first game of today's doubleheader over Southwestern at Rockwell Field by the score of 13-3. Majors' starter Aaron Williams pitched a complete game (seven innings) allowing six hits and four walks while scattering three earned runs.
Offensively Millsaps was aided by four homeruns, one each by center fielder Jeremy Aliff, right fielder Jules Roussel, third baseman Will Hawkins, and first baseman Jake Mills.
For the Pirates shortstop Charlie Garrett and DH Lance Gottardy each had two hits. Gottardy, second baseman Nate Shipp, and catcher Nick Ashford accounted for the Southwestern RBIs.
Freshman Tyler Poi saw his first action on the mound as a Pirate and pitched well allowing just one run and two hits in 2.2 innings of work. Chris Webber started for Southwestern and pitched the first two-plus innings. He was relieved by Eric Kegley who threw 1.1 innings, Poi, and freshman Max Smith who pitched the final inning in his collegiate debut.
The Pirates bounced back strong in the second game of the day but in the end Southwestern dropped the nightcap of the doubleheader to Millsaps 5-4 in 10 innings.
Second baseman Nate Shipp got the Bucs off to a strong start with a solo homerun in the first inning off of Majors' starter Eliot Varney. After two scoreless innings Millsaps rallied for two runs of their own in the third, using aggressive base running and timely hitting to give them the lead.
Southwestern tied the game in the fourth on shortstop Charlie Garrett's RBI single to left that scored Greg Thumm. The Pirates then regained the lead in the fifth with two runs on Johnny Gavrel's long homerun to left that cleared the scoreboard at Rockwell field.
The Majors rallied to tie the game in the eighth with two runs on four hits including doubles by Jules Roussel and Trey Rountree.
Southwestern had a great chance to take the lead in the bottom half of the eighth with the bases loaded and one out but the Millsaps defense held, aided by a diving snag by MC's thirdbaseman and a close call at first that gave the Majors an inning ending double play.
Millsaps went ahead for good in the 10th on left fielder Ryan Zemke's single to right.
Both Southwestern pitchers that appeared in this game had strong outings. Starter Brantley Freeman went six innings allowing seven hits and only two runs with seven strikeouts. Matt Stuart went four strong innings in relief allowing five hits, three runs, and striking out three. Offensively the Bucs were led by five players who had two hits each, including Lance Gottardy who, added to his two hit performance in the opener, made it a four hit day. The other Pirates with multiple hits were Nate Shipp, Patrick Keenan, Greg Thumm, and Jay Sterling.
The win dropped the Pirates' overall record to 2-4. They will look to rebound against Millsaps tomorrow afternoon in the series finale beginning at 1:00 PM.