MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TENN. (April 15, 2016) â€" With a chance to pull within one game of first place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference on the line, the Milligan College softball held an early lead in game one, but it was all Reinhardt University from there as the Buffaloes fell twice, 11-1 in six innings and then 9-3, Friday at Anglin Softball Field.
 
Milligan (23-13 overall, 11-7 AAC) was unable to use the momentum earned from its comeback over Union College last time out to gets its first win over a nationally ranked opponent since defeating then-ranked No. 11 Reinhardt back in April of 2014. Reinhardt (35-10, 16-2), meanwhile, used the two wins to get over .500 on the road for the first time this season at 6-5, and raised its most recent winning streak to 11 games, its second longest of the season.
 
The Buffs were off to a promising start in the opener, using a leadoff double by Caroline Testerman and an RBI-knock from Natalie Sheffey in the bottom of the third to get on the board first. Additionally, starter Jessica Goodson (10-6) held the Lady Eagles without a hit through three innings. However, Milligan stranded runners in scoring position in each of the second, third and fourth innings, and that combined with five defensive errors, was enough to tip the scales in Reinhardt's favor.
 
Reinhardt finally got to Goodson in the fourth inning, pushing across an unearned run and scoring two more unearned runs in the next inning. In fact, the Lady Eagles would score in each of the final three innings of the game as a seven-run sixth inning, ending with a three-run homer by Sarah Kate Jenkins for her fourth of the year, put Reinhardt over the run-rule margin.
 
Despite a three-run bottom of the first in game two for Milligan, the Lady Eagles scored seven combined runs in the first two innings to keep the pressure on the Buffs. Micalah Sacre connected on her ninth home run of the season for Reinhardt in the first inning, while Milligan's runs came via a Sheffey double of the right field fence, a Kimberly Robinson single and a dropped fly off the bat of Rachel Coffey.
 
Sheffey led the Buffs in both games with a combined 5-for-7 effort, including multiple hits in each game, an RBI in each game, and a stolen base in game one and a run in game two. Kacie Skeen recorded a hit in each game and added a steal in the second game.
 
Next up, Milligan wraps up AAC action in two days with a trip to Laurinburg, North Carolina, on Sunday, April 17, to square off against St. Andrews University. The Buffs will then finish the regular season at home on Saturday, April 23, as they welcome No. 10 Georgia Gwinnett College, for their second meeting of the year. First pitch for each of the two remaining doubleheaders will be at 1 p.m.