ATHENS, Tenn. (April 12, 2015) â€" Saturday afternoon's extra-inning thriller that saw the Milligan College baseball team even the three-game series at a game apiece took a lot out of the tank, and it showed Sunday in the finale as the Buffaloes lost 12-2 to 10th-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan College.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan (32-9, 16-4 AAC) won the series and remained at the top of the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Milligan (18-11, 10-9 AAC) stayed in fifth in the conference with only two series left in the regular season.
 
Milligan kept the game relatively close through the first six innings but gave up a four-run seventh, and two runs in the eighth put the run rule into effect. Reigning AAC Pitcher of the Week Josh Peterson struck out eight and walked only two but surrendered seven runs on 11 hits in what was his worst start of the season. Peterson had not previously allowed more than four runs in any start and only twice had he given up more than two runs. Sunday's effort was only the senior's third non-quality start.
 
Chavez Golden gave the offense a spark in the top of the second with his first career home run, but the Buffaloes failed to produce any more runs until Edwin Soto's groundout scored Nate Clifton from third with one out in the eighth. By that point, TWC was already on top 10-1.
 
Golden's homer in the second made it a 2-1 game, but the Buffaloes managed to put the tying run on base only once after it.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan scored its early runs on a one-out ground ball in the first, a leadoff home run in the second, and a sacrifice fly and error in the third.
 
Pending weather, Milligan will host Bluefield College on Monday at 3 p.m., Southern Wesleyan on Tuesday at 3 p.m., and St. Andrews in a three-game series on Friday and Saturday.