CLEVELAND, Ga. (March 11, 2016) -- The seventh inning was a decisive one Friday afternoon at Truett-McConnell College's baseball field as the Milligan College baseball team rallied with three runs in the seventh to win game one 4-2 but conceded two runs in the seventh to lose game two 2-1.
 
With the split doubleheader and Milligan's 6-5 loss to Truett in the series opener on Thursday, the Bears won the series two games to one. Milligan moved to 11-12 (4-2 AAC) while Truett moved to 16-9 (4-2 AAC).
 
Hunter Suggs had the eventual game-winning hit in the first game of the doubleheader, getting his first hit of the day with a one-out single to left field which scored two and gave Milligan a 3-2 lead. Shane Salley drew a bases-loaded walk three batters later to give Milligan an insurance run.
 
Dustin Cole (2-0) picked up the win in relief with a perfect sixth inning and maintained his perfect earned run average for the season. Jacob Littleton earned his team-leading third save of the season despite seeing the tying run reach base with two out in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Corey Jenkins got the start and went five innings but received no decision. He gave up five hits and two earned runs, walked two and struck out three, and trailed 2-1 when he exited after the fifth.
 
All the scoring of game two was done in the final inning. Salley led off Milligan's seventh with a double to left field, his team-leading seventh double this season, then went to third on a single by Thomas Miller, and scored on an RBI ground ball by Andrew Copas.
 
Until that point, Milligan starter Codie Campbell (2-4) had been nearly flawless, giving up only three hits and a walk through the first six innings. But the senior right-hander conceded back-to-back hits to lead off the seventh before Truett punched across the winning run on a bases-loaded walkoff single to left.
 
In all, Campbell gave up five hits and two runs, and was saddled the loss.
 
Justin Pearson, Salley and Braden Jones paced Milligan's offense at the plate, all finishing with multiple hits. Pearson was 2-for-3 in the game-one win, Salley was 1-for-3 in the win and 1-for-2 in the loss, and Jones also provided a base hit in both games.
 
Milligan will be on the road over the weekend of March 19-20, facing Bluefield College, but the Buffs will be at home the next weekend, March 25-26, for an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup with Reinhardt University.