MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Vikings took on their second SAA series against Millsaps, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, where they used some monster middle frames to take both games, outscoring the Majors 14-2 through the two contests. 

Pitchers Ava Fouts (Game One) and JJ Sweat (Game Two) were masters in the circle today, allowing just one run apiece, nearly shutting out the Millsaps offense. 

Offensively, Ava Fouts and Elly Bennett had three-hit outings in game one, while Erica Bennett had three hits in game two to lead the batters' box for the Vikings. 

GAME ONE (Berry 5 – Millsaps 1) 

Ava Fouts began the game in the circle for the Vikings, retiring the two leadoff hitters before allowing two runners on first and second. The senior dug into her mechanism and dug out the third out of the inning on a 4-6 putout to end the inning. 

The Fouts show continued in the batter's box as her leadoff single sparked a domino effect, as Elly Bennett earned her way on to put runners on first and second with slugger Lauren Cothern ready to bat in the three hole. An unfortunate lineout turned double play ended what looked to be a promising first frame, as the two teams went into the second inning scoreless. 

Two straight swinging strikeouts for Fouts put the Majors behind schedule in the top of the second. After surrounding a hit, Fouts dug into the circle and delivered another swinging strikeout to end the inning, stifling the bottom of the Majors lineup. A fruitless inning for the Vikings in the bottom of the second held the score bug empty heading into the third. 

A lead-off single for the Majors and a couple of stolen bases left Fouts in trouble with just one out. A base hit plated the first run of the game to give the Majors a 1-0 advantage. Fouts quickly stopped the Majors' offensive spurt with two outs to keep it a one-run affair. 

A two-out single from Madison Miller sparked another hit over the head of the shortstop, to set up Cothern once again with a chance to do damage. The slugger was unable to take advantage though, as the Majors snuck their way out of another jam to maintain a 1-0 lead.  

Fouts grabbed two quick outs before allowing a bases-loaded situation. Sensing the danger, Fouts dug her heels in as she faced the two-hole in the Major lineup. Fouts got ahead 0-2 and then tickled the outside corner to get the Vikings out of what could have been a disaster for the Vikings, unscathed. 

The top of the fifth was another Ava Fouts show, as she managed to get the Vikings to the bottom still down just 1-0.  

The Viking bats turned it into high gear in the bottom of the fifth, as a huge RBI double from Ava Fouts made the score 2-1. Looking for a following act, Elly Bennett drilled a ball up the middle to score Fouts and open the floodgates for a 3-1 Viking advantage with just one out.  

An error in the field from the Majors led to the two base runners automatically advancing two bases, bringing home two Vikings to make it a commanding 5-1 lead. 

Fouts orchestrated a three-up three-down top of the sixth to put Berry in the driver's seat. A dormant inning led to the Vikings being three outs away from their second SAA win of the season.  

After two quick outs, three Majors snuck their ways on base before Latifa Madesko made a diving play to tag third base and end the game by a final score of 5-1.  

GAME TWO (Berry 9 – Millsaps 1) 

With three-time SAA Pitcher of the Week JJ Sweat in the circle, the Vikings managed two quick outs before base hit and then a ball lost in the sun plated a run for the Majors as they took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. 

The two offenses went away quietly until the bottom of the second, when Berry put a runner in scoring position at second base. With two outs, Bradynn Belcher stepped into the batters box and faced an 0-2 count and nearly drove a ball to center but was cut down by a Major to end the inning and keep the visiting team up 1-0 heading into the top of the third.  

After a few scoreless innings, JJ Sweat faced runners on second and third with a 3-2 count at the plate. The freshman cleared her mechanism and forced a flyout to center to end the top of the fourth.  

Much like the first game, the Vikings caught fire after trailing for half the contest, with five straight batters earning their way on and plating two runs to take a 2-1 lead. Not finished there, freshman Kennedy Mosely stepped into the batter's box and launched 3-run home run bomb to open the floodgates and take a 5-1 advantage heading into the top of the fifth 

The Majors responded to two quick outs by loading the bases, forcing JJ Sweat to work through another tough operation. There was no sweat though, as JJ struck out a Major swinging to send the game into the bottom of the fifth, with the Vikings ahead 5-1. 

An Elly Bennett walk, and a base hit for Cothern with zero outs put the Majors on their heels in the bottom of the fifth frame. Erica Bennett would take advantage and nail a ball through the middle of the field to stretch the Viking lead to 7-1. That led to the Vikings plating two more runs off the bats of Rachel Runsick and Bradynn Belcher, ending the game in a run rule by a final score of 9-1 in the bottom of the fifth. 

The Vikings will close out the series tomorrow at 12 PM against Millsaps at the Kay.