KINGSPORT, Tenn. (April 23, 2014) â€" Kimberly Robinson missed a three-run walk-off homer by five feet and instead recorded the last out in the Milligan College softball team's tough 5-3 loss to St. Andrews University Wednesday evening at Domtar Park.
 
With the loss, Milligan (21-16, 16-4 AAC) moved to the losers bracket of the AAC tournament where the Buffaloes will face Point University Thursday at 1 p.m. in a must-win game. A victory over Point would pit Milligan against the winner of the Bryan-Virginia Intermont game in the 5 p.m. slot.
 
Robinson represented the winning run with two out in the seventh and had what looked to be her team-leading eighth homer of the year until St. Andrews left fielder Mekayla Valentine, with her back to the fence, bobbled the catch but secured the final out in her bare hand while falling to her knees.
 
Krista Lambdin and Jessica Wheelock, who both finished 2-for-4, were the base runners after reaching on two-out singles to start the would-be rally earlier in the inning.
 
Milligan had the first lead of the game as Natalie Sheffey doubled to left-center with two out in the first. It scored Wheelock who had reached on a base hit then went to second on a sacrifice bunt.
 
Sheffey drove home Robinson five innings later, with Milligan down 4-1, to start a two-run rally in the sixth. Sheffey later scored in the inning on Taylor McGinnis' sacrifice fly, which also narrowly missed home run distance.
 
Starting pitcher Chancli Connatser threw the first five innings but exited partway through the sixth when she gave up back-to-back hits with one out. Until that point, she had held St. Andrews to two runs on three hits.
 
Robinson, who came in to close out the last 1 2/3 innings, uncorked a wild pitch before SAU's Brooke Sikes slapped a base hit through the left side to make it 4-1. Milligan followed with its two-run bottom half but gave up another run in the top of the seventh to round out the scoring.
 
Connatser dropped to 13-9 despite holding SAU to five hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. She gave up four earned runs and struck out five.
 
Sheffey drove in two of Milligan's three runs and scored the other while going 2-for-3 from the cleanup spot.