MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Mar. 10, 2015) â€" Strong all-around play helped the Milligan College baseball team cruise to a 10-0 shutout victory over Bluefield College in Appalachian Athletic Conference play on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Coming off a rough weekend trip to Union, Milligan (5-3, 1-3 AAC) picked up its first conference win as every part of the Buff machine seemed to flow seamlessly in the 7-inning victory.
 
Bluefield (7-6, 1-3 AAC) had two straight 3-up, 3-down innings to start the game as Codie Campbell forced the Rams to hit right to the waiting Milligan defense, who played each ball to perfection.
 
Campbell, who threw the complete game, battled out of every predicament that came his way, including a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the top of the fifth where a routine groundball to Hunter Suggs ended the inning. In total, Campbell caused the Rams to leave six baserunners on without scoring, four of which were in scoring position.
 
However, with only one strikeout, it wasn't Campbell alone who carried the defense. Rather, every member of the Buff defense put away at least one Bluefield hitter in the seven inning bout.
 
One clutch play came in the sixth as the Rams seemed to be building momentum after a single through the hole at short was followed by a deep fly ball to centerfield which stopped just short of the fence to be caught by Nate Clifton. Milligan cut the inning short to stop the potential rally with a 6-4-3 double play from Suggs and Tyler Weir.
 
But that was just defense.
 
Being held scoreless in only one inning, the Buffs consistently hit the ball well. Opening up strong, the Buffs left only one of four runners on base in the first as three hits from Brandon Malone, Chavez Golden and Sam Tarlton brought them home.
 
Malone, who led the Buffs with three RBIs, scored the final run in the sixth with a double to deep center that bounced off of the fence, bringing home Edwin Soto who was currently sitting at third after crushing an RBI triple to right field moments before.
 
Milligan had five players to record two hits apiece and five more to record at least one RBI in the contest.
 
With a renewed energy, the Buffs will travel to Georgetown, Kentucky, to take on No. 8 Georgetown College on March 11. This will mark the fourth straight day of competition for Milligan, and after a one-day break, the Buffs will host Truett-McConnell in a three-game series on March 13 and 14.