Kingsport, Tenn. (May 8, 2010) --- The fourth seeded Milligan College baseball team battled back to overcome an early deficit to knock off Reinhardt (Ga.) College Saturday evening in the first round of the AAC Conference Tournament. The Buffs finished off the Eagles 7-5 at Hunter Wright Stadium.

Milligan struck first as they drove in a run in the fourth inning to gain a quick 1-0 lead, but Reinhardt would answer in the top of the fifth with two home runs as they posted four runs to the board to pull ahead 4-1. The rest of the game, however, belonged to Milligan as the Buffs posted a six spot in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach of the fifth seeded Eagles.

Junior LA Owens (Dillon, S.C.) earned the win in 1.1 innings of work in Saturday's AAC Tournament opener. Owens gave up no runs on one hit, and struck out two batters. The Buffs lone All-AAC pick, Jason Trivett (Bristol, Tenn.), earned his 14th save of the year against the Eagles. Trivett pitched a complete inning and only yielded a hit. For the year, Owens improves to 5-3.

Leading the offensive charge was senior Dallas Crouch (Jefferson City, Tenn.) who was 3-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI. Sophomore infielder Dustin Ford (Jonesborough, Tenn.) also had a big day at the plate going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI. Freshman Brett Maddox (Lake Butler, Fla.) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Milligan improves to 30-19 overall and 1-0 in the AAC Conference Tournament.

The Buffs return to action Monday, May 10, at 5 p.m., as they take on top seeded Tennessee Wesleyan College for the second round of the AAC Conference Tournament. During the regular season, the Buffs won the series against the Bulldogs 2-1.