ATLANTA, Ga. (April 28, 2024) – A thrilling first weekend of the Southern Athletic Association baseball tournament saw two favorites and two lower seeds prevail to set up the championship bracket, May 2-4 in Danville, Kentucky.
 
Top-seed Centre had to come from behind twice to beat eight-seed Millsaps in its opening series. The Colonels trailed 3-0 for much of the opener before plating two in the sixth and two in the seventh to win 4-3. Ben Prather had the tying RBI single and scored the eventual game winner. The standout sophomore also provided the fireworks in the deciding game, blasting a walk off, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give Centre another 4-3 win and set up championship weekend on its home field.
 
Centre will match-up with Sewanee, who entered the postseason as the seven-seed and upset No. 2 Berry in two games. The Tigers shocked the Vikings in the opener, scoring four runs in the fourth and cruising to a 10-2 win. Mike Lewishall was 5-for-5 with five RBIs to highlight the Sewanee bats. The following day, the Tigers raced out to an 8-2 lead after four and held off Berry down the stretch, winning 9-5. Four players had multi-hit games, led by three each from Charlie Teel and Hunter Herndon.
 
Hendrix was the other higher-seed to get out of the first weekend, dropping the first game to Oglethorpe before coming back to win the next two. Due to weather issues, the series started late Thursday evening with OU earning a 14-7 win. Jonathan Cruz hit a grand slam in the second and the Stormy Petrels never looked back, pounding out 17 hits on the night. The teams went right back onto the field for game two that ended just before midnight with Hendrix coming out on top, 7-2. Dylan Kalmus threw the final six innings for the Warriors, allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out 10 in a winning effort. The rubber match went 10 innings on Friday morning with Hendrix coming out on top 7-6. Owen Shaw had three hits, including a double in the bottom of the 10^th, to lead Hendrix into the championship tournament.
 
Rhodes traveled to Birmingham and swept past the Panthers to close the final chapter of the storied BSC baseball program. The Lynx fell behind in the first of game one, but used a 10 run seventh inning to post a 12-1 win in eight innings. Zac Sohosky was spectacular on the hill for Rhodes, going all seven innings and scattering six hits while allowing one run with six strikeouts. In game two, Rhodes was again strong in the later innings, scoring two in the top of the ninth to come away with a 4-3 victory. The Lynx will play Hendrix in the first game of the SAA Championship tournament on Thursday.
 
SAA Baseball Tournament Central