BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (March 22, 2017) â€" Kimberly Robinson turned in one of her best outings of the season in the form of a two-hitter where she struck out nine, but the Milligan College softball team came up short twice at Union College Wednesday evening. Milligan lost game one 1-0 and game two 7-0.
 
Milligan moved to 10-15 (5-9 Appalachian Athletic Conference) this season, and the Buffs fell to 3-10 on the road. Union, the AAC frontrunner, improved to 18-17 (6-0 AAC).
 
Robinson, who suffered a similar loss last week when she threw a one-hitter at Bryan, pitched her third complete game of the season but suffered her fourth loss (6-4). After striking out five and allowing only one base runner through the first three innings, Robinson surrendered the only run of the first game in the fourth inning. It happened when Union's Chandler Overton was hit to lead the inning off, then came around to score after stealing two bases and being pushed across on a single up the middle.
 
Milligan had a good chance to take the lead in the third and fifth, having two runners on with two out, but came up empty in each. The Buffs' offense struggled to produce only four hits in the opening game and those struggles carried over into the second game when the Buffs produced only four more hits and no runs.
 
Union scored once in the bottom of the first inning of game two, then added a three-spot in the second and fifth innings to put the game out of reach. Freshman Jaclyn Jenkins suffered her fourth loss of the season as she made an early exit in the second inning. Kassi Butcher and Cayley Shoemaker saw work out of the pen, with Butcher striking out three over three innings but also surrendering two earned runs.
 
Offensively, Madison Grindstaff and Kirstan Beaver were the only Buffs with more than one hit on the day. Grindstaff was 2-for-2 in game one while Beaver was 1-for-3 in game one and 1-for-3 in game two.
 
Milligan's next game is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. when the Buffs host AAC opponent Bluefield College. The doubleheader will mark the start of an eight-game home stand for Milligan.