MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Feb. 11, 2017)- Stellar pitching and clutch hitting led the Milligan College softball team to a 5-0 victory in game one, and a 3-2 victory in game two against the University of the Cumberlands to open the 2017 season.

In game one, senior Kimberly Robinson sparked the Buffs on the mound. Only allowing three hits in six innings pitched, Robinson struck out eight of the 19 batters she faced, and went on to earn her first win of the season.

At the plate, Robinson went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the bottom of the first to give the Buffs an early lead. Power hitters Rachel Coffey and Kacie Skeen drove in four runs collectively, Coffey with a two-run home run in the third and Skeen with a two-run shot in the fourth, allowing the Buffs to take game one 5-0.

After trailing for most of game two, clutch hitting in the fifth and seventh innings allowed the Buffs to complete the sweep 3-2. The Patriots jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but a couple of errors in the bottom of the fifth allowed the Buffs to cut the lead to one.

Freshman Jaclyn Jenkins would take over the mound in the top of the fifth, and the Patriots would not see another hit the rest of the game. Jenkins came up big in the sixth and seventh innings as she retired all six batters faced to keep the Buffs down by one heading into the bottom of the seventh.

In what appeared to be a strikeout, Allison Davidson started off the seventh inning by reaching first on a dropped third strike. Coffey would then narrowly miss her second home run of the day to deep left field that resulted in a stand-up double. Jenna Gilbert tied the game at two with a single back up the middle to score Davidson. With only one out, Jenkins would end the game with a walk-off sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Coffey for the winning run, securing her first win as a Buffalo.

Milligan returns to action on Friday, Feb. 17, as they host University of Rio Grande in a four-game series. Game one is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.