BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (May 6, 2023) – Top-seed Birmingham-Southern finished its sweep through the 2023 Southern Athletic Association baseball tournament, beating Berry 9-6 in the championship game Saturday.
SAA Baseball Tournament Central
The Panthers (36-9) also won the SAA regular season and will be the conference’s representative in the NCAA Division III tournament. Berry’s year ends at 22-22.
BSC was nothing short of dominant in winning its third-straight SAA tournament title and sixth in program history. The Panthers swept through the bracket, beating Oglethorpe twice in the opening round, downing Millsaps 11-1 to open tournament play, beating Berry 5-4 in the semifinals posting a 9-6 win over the Vikings in the championship.
Hansen McCown earned the win on the hill, striking out three and allowing two runs on four hits over the first 5.2 innings. Ricky Harrison got a save after throwing a perfect ninth inning.
Nick Best blasted a grand slam in the fourth and Cam McNearney hit a two-run homer in the third to highlight the BSC offense. Ian Hancock and Will Lantis both had two hits on the day.
Levi Cloud led Berry’s attack, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Joey Garcia also had a two-hit game with Nick Brunswick and John D’Amelio each hitting a double.
BSC struck first on McNearney’s two-run bomb to start in the third. A five-run fourth, behind Best’s shot over the wall, put the Panthers on top 7-0 after four.
Berry battled back with two runs in the sixth and, after a BSC score in the bottom of the frame, added another in the seventh to make it an 8-3 score.
BSC manufactured an insurance run in the seventh to go ahead 9-3.
The Vikings threatened in the eighth, putting three across the plate. D’Amelio ripped an RBI double, Cloud hit an RBI single and then eventually scored on a wild pitch to pull Berry to within three.
That would be all the visitors would get as Harrison came on to close the door on the Vikings rally.
2023 Baseball All-Tournament Team
Jack Fleming (BSC) -MVP
Will Lantis (BSC)
Joey White (BSC)
Cam McNearney (BSC)
Nick Brunswick (Berry)
Levi Cloud (Berry)
Patrick O’Rourke (Berry)
Teddy Holloway (Centre)
Nick Tarantino (Millsaps)