BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Needing to win just one game of the three-game series to become regular season champions, Birmingham-Southern did not mess around. They got the job done on the first game, defeating Berry 13-6 and winning the regular season for the first time since 2019. 

Birmingham-Southern got out to an early lead in the first inning after back-to-back home runs by Noah Best and Ian Hancock gave the Panthers and early 2-0 lead. They kept the offensive momentum going as they pushed across two more runs in the second to extend their lead to 4-0.

The middle innings were filled with runs for both teams. Berry got on the board in the top of the fourth inning, and just as momentum looked like it was about to swing towards the Vikings, BSC took it right back. In the bottom of the fourth the Panthers scored three runs to take a 7-1 lead. Will Lantis drove in Alfredo Granier and Andrew Dutton hit his second homerun of the year to drive in two runs. Berry did not back down and put up four runs right after in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 7-5 and gain an lot of momentum. But, once again, Birmingham-Southern responded putting up another three runs to take a 10-5 lead. BSC scored three runs on three hits and took advantage of two Berry errors. 

Connor Adams relieved Josh Leerssen in the sixth inning and threw four great frames. Adams allowed one run (unearned) over his four innings, allowed just three hits and struckout seven. 

The Panthers added three extra runs in the bottom of the seventh to add to their lead. A single Berry run came across to score in the ninth, but that was all they would get. With the 13-6 victory Birmingham-Southern won the 2022 Southern Athletic Association Regular Season Championship.

Pitching decisions
WIN: Josh Leerssen (4-1)
LOSS: Ethan Crump (3-1)
SAVE: Connor Adams (2)

Records
#3 Birmingham-Southern 29-7 Overall (16-3 SAA), Berry 25-13 Overall (13-6 SAA)

News and notes
> The Panthers have three hitters with double digit home runs on the season.
> The seven strikeouts are a season and career-high for Connor Adams. 
> Andrew Dutton recorded a career-high RBI game with six runs driven in. 

Up next
The Panthers will honor their seniors on Saturday, April 23 before the first game of the doubleheader against Berry. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.