MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (April 29, 2016) â€" The Milligan College baseball team forced extra innings in game one and stayed close in game two, but in the end it would be two losses on senior day against No. 5 Tennessee Wesleyan College Friday at Anglin Baseball Field. The Buffaloes fell 3-2 in a low scoring, eight inning game one, and then suffered a 6-5 defeat while attempting a final inning comeback in the nightcap.

Seniors Codie Campbell, Carlos Cueto, Corey Jenkins, Jarrett Ramsey and Shane Salley were all recognized between games for their contributions to Milligan baseball and Buff Nation.

Game one featured TWC scoring two unearned runs in the top of the third and Milligan answering with two unearned runs of their own, one in the bottom half of the third and another in the sixth to make it tight toward the end. Andrew Copas got the run batted in for the Buffs in the third inning to score Blake Dutton, and the run in the sixth was driven in by Salley to bring in Braden Jones, who replaced Copas on the base paths.

After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh for Dustin Cole, Milligan put the winning run on second in the bottom half, but came up empty. The Bulldogs then took advantage of their second life with a leadoff hit that turned into a two-out run in the top of the eighth. Salley tried to lead a Buffs' rally with a one-out single up the middle before reaching third with two out, but again Milligan would be held off.

In game two, Milligan made it a one-run game after four innings, but from there TWC scored three more unanswered runs and finished a streak of four straight innings with a run with two in the sixth. Milligan's runs in the bottom of the fourth came in the form of a leadoff walk by Copas, followed by back-to-back doubles by Salley and Hunter Townsend, with the latter being a two-RBI knock.

Milligan's attempted comeback in the seventh started with two out when Jake Weaver singled to short, Hunter Suggs singled to left, Dutton reached on a dropped third strike, and a hit by Copas to short brought in Weaver for an RBI and Suggs and Dutton both on an error. With Copas standing on second as the tying run, a groundout to the mound by Salley ended the senior day comeback.

Three Buffs were 2-for-3 in game two as Suggs added two stolen bases and a run, Townsend added a double and two RBI's, and Weaver added both a run and a steal. Similarly, game one saw three Buffs bat 2-for-4 as Dutton added a run scored and Copas and Salley both added RBI's.

Luke Spaulding started off game one for Milligan on the mound with four innings of only three hit and two walk baseball, while Cole limited TWC to only one hit through his three innings of work. Jenkins (1-3) took the loss after giving up two hits and the winning run in the final inning.

Campbell (2-9) was tagged with the loss in game two with four innings of work in which he gave up only four hits but also walked four while striking out six. Campbell was charged with three total runs, only two of which were earned, and senior relievers Cueto and Ramsey both made appearances on the mound. Cueto walked one while striking out two and allowing no hits during his inning, but Ramsey gave up one run on no hits and two walks in his 1.1 inning.

Milligan fell to 20-29 overall and 9-17 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, while TWC's record rose to 39-10 and 23-3. TWC is one win away from an impressive 40-victory season, while the Buffs will look to spoil that and earn a bid to the AAC Tournament, scheduled to start in a little over a week.

Next up is Milligan's regular-season and home finale. The Buffs host the Bulldogs on Saturday, April 30, at 12 p.m. on Anglin Field. If the Buffs advance to the postseason, the AAC tournament is scheduled for Monday-Thursday, May 9-12, at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, Tennessee.