BLUEFIELD, Va. (March 18, 2016) â€" Austin Perry and Corey Jenkins both put in solid starts on the mound, and Thomas Miller came up big at the plate, finishing a combined 4-for-7 with two runs scored and two runs batted in as the Milligan College baseball team took two games, 5-3 and 7-4, over Bluefield College Friday night at Bowen Field.

The victories moved Milligan's record back above .500 at 13-12 overall, and also advanced the Buffs to second in the Appalachian Athletic Conference at 6-2, which is good for a tie with No. 23 Bryan College and only one game behind No. 12 Tennessee Wesleyan College. The two wins also gave the Buffs their eighth victory in their last 10 games, got the Buffs back to .500 on the road at 6-6, and gave Milligan its sixth straight win over Bluefield (12-15, 2-6), including 10 of their last 11 meetings. Lastly, the games were the first home defeats on the season for the Rams.

In game one, Perry (4-3) improved upon his team high in wins with six innings of three hit, three run baseball where he struck out five while walking only one. Jacob Littleton notched his team-best fourth save with a perfect seventh inning.

Jenkins (1-0) earned his first win on the mound of the season by going five innings with four runs and seven hits in game two. Jenkins also struck out three and walked two, while Dustin Cole stranded two hits and one free pass over his two innings of work, completing his first save of the year and keeping his 0.00 earned run average intact.

After Bluefield's game one starter, Christian Sinnott (2-3), struck out back-to-back Buffs to get out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the first inning, Sinnott was chased from the game without recording an out in the second. A leadoff hit by Andrew Copas followed by a Nelson Schneider walk led to the first two runs of the game as Braden Jones brought in both runs with a single to center.

Milligan added a run and went ahead 3-0 in the top of the third on a single by Copas to score Shane Salley, who finished the game 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks. Copas was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Miller was also 2-for-4 and added an RBI.

Milligan never trailed in the opener, but needed an insurance run in the top of the fifth in the form of a Justin Pearson sacrifice fly to score Hunter Townsend and hold on for the win. The Rams used a two-run home run in the bottom of the third and a solo shot in the sixth to keep it close.

The Buffs went down 3-1 after one inning in game two after the Rams' Erik Williams hit his second home run of the day, and AAC-leading 10th total home run, but answered to put up a five-spot in the top of the third on RBI's by Copas, Jones, Hunter Suggs and Bryan Soto.

Miller was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI in game two, while Soto was 2-for-4 with an RBI, Townsend was 2-for-5 with a run and Schneider was 2-for-3. Additionally, Copas had both a run scored and an RBI, and Suggs and Jones both had a run scored with two RBI's.

Next up, the series finale between Milligan and Bluefield is currently to be announced. The Buffs host Reinhardt University next weekend in an AAC series with first pitch set for a single game on Friday, March 25, at 3:30 p.m. and then a doubleheader on Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m.