MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (March 22, 2015) â€" A Kacie Skeen solo homer gave the Milligan College softball team the boost they needed Sunday afternoon to defeat Truett-McConnell College 2-1 in game one of their doubleheader. The Buffs split the series with a 2-0 loss in game two.
 
Skeen's shot over the left field fence, which nearly took a dip in the waters of nearby Buffalo Creek, came in the fourth inning of game one and returned the lead to the Buffs, this time for good.  
 
Milligan (10-6, 7-3 AAC) had taken an early lead in the first inning after a Kimberly Robinson double brought home Jessica Wheelock, but Truett-McConnell (13-15, 4-4 AAC) battled back in the third, finally taking advantage of a series of doubles that had started all three innings for the Bears without yielding a run.
 
Truett-McConnell never closed an inning without a runner on base, but the Milligan defense stopped all seven chances that the Bears had at scoring. Meghan Nicol led the effort from the pitcher's circle as she helped hold Truett-McConnell scoreless for the final four frames, striking out four total with two in the seventh inning.
 
That same Milligan defense would hold the Bears scoreless for six straight innings in game two, but one inning would doom the Buffs to their first home loss.
 
In what seemed to be the only way Truett-McConnell could start an inning in the series, the Bears sent a line shot to deep left good for a double, and after two sacrifice bunts, Briana Crawford crossed home plate to give the Bears the lead. An error and two hits sent a second run to home to extend the lead to 2-0, and from that moment on, neither team would find home again.
 
Instead, a pitcher's duel defined the rest of the game as Robinson and Harlee Grogan traded scoreless innings. Grogan recorded 14 strikeouts over the course of seven innings for the Bears, but Robinson did not falter either as she only allowed two hits in her six innings.
 
In the end, Milligan was unable to find a way to bring their runners home, leaving four on and two in scoring position.
 
Samantha Lilley and Natalie Sheffey both recorded two hits on the day, as Robinson and Skeen took the only RBIs with one apiece.
 
Milligan will stay at home to take on Montreat College in more AAC action on Tuesday, March 24. In fact, the next three series for the Buffs will be at home as they host St. Andrews University and Tennessee Wesleyan College on the following Saturday (March 28) and Tuesday (March 31), leaving only one more home series on April 10 before the season's end.