Milligan College, Tenn. (April 26, 2013) --- The Milligan College softball team was unable to keep pace with Virginia Intermont in the championship game of the 2013 Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament on Friday afternoon as they fell 14-2 at Domtar Park in Kingsport, Tenn. The Buffaloes advanced to the championship game by holding off top-seed Reinhardt University and eliminating the two-time defending tournament champion with a 7-6 victory.
 
   Milligan opened the scoring against Virginia Intermont as Camille Olvey (Maryville, Tenn.) scored in the top of the first inning on a Lady Cobra wild pitch. However, the Buffaloes were unable to add another run, and Virginia Intermont scored eight runs of the next two innings to take an 8-1 lead into the third inning.
 
   The Buffaloes saw two runners reach base in the top of the fourth, but they were unable to bring the runners home. Virginia Intermont loaded the bases in the home side of the inning. However, Milligan escaped the inning unscathed. In the top of the fourth, Jessica Connatser (Maryville, Tenn.) opened the inning with a triple, and then scored off a Jessie Wheelock (Gray, Tenn.) single. The Buffaloes loaded the bases, but were unable to score another run in the frame. The Lady Cobras secured the win with six runs in the bottom half of the frame.
    
   Emily Biggs (Kingsport, Tenn.), Abby Hughes (Rogersville, Tenn.), Wheelock, Connatser and Olvey were all 1-for-2 at the plate. In the pitching circle, junior Chancli Connatser (Maryville, Tenn.) was handed the loss as she allowed seven earned runs on five hits.
 
   In the first game of the day, neither team was able to score a run in the first inning. The Lady Eagles scored in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. Milligan answered in the third inning as Lindsey Keys (Johnson City, Tenn.) scored off an Olvey single. The Buffaloes kept the inning alive as Catherine McGinnis (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove Biggs and Olvey to score, and Hughes bunted Krista Lambdin (Knoxville, Tenn.) across the plate to give Milligan a 4-1 lead after three innings of play.
 
   Reinhardt answered the Milligan runs with a solo homerun in the fourth inning. However, Biggs scored off a Hughes sacrifice fly to extend the Buffaloes lead to open the fifth inning. J. Connatser drove in Lambdin and McGinnis to give Milligan a 7-2 lead after five innings. Reinhardt added a pair of runs in the sixth inning to close the gap to two runs, and added another run in the seventh. However, Lambdin and J. Connatser caught a pair of fly balls to secure the win.
 
   Biggs finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate, while McGinnis was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Hughes and J. Connatser ended the game with two RBIs. In the pitching circle, C. Connatser picked up the win as she allowed six earned runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts.
 
   The Buffaloes finish the 2013 season with a 15-22 record. Milligan will lose three seniors in Biggs, Hughes and Olvey to graduation.