ATHENS, Tenn. (April 1, 2017) â€" After Jacob Littleton turned in a complete game gem to help even the series, the Milligan College baseball team rallied twice late in the finale but ultimately came up short at No. 5 Tennessee Wesleyan University on Saturday. Milligan won game one of the doubleheader 4-1 but lost game two 6-5. TWU took the series two games to one.
 
Littleton was masterful against one of the top offenses in the nation, putting together his second straight complete game. It consisted of seven innings, one run, four hits, four walks and six strikeouts. His only blemish came in the bottom of the third, but the junior showed poise to limit the damage. Tennessee Wesleyan had the bases loaded with only one out, but Littleton managed to escape with only one run on his record.
 
Meanwhile, Milligan (16-18, 6-9 AAC) had already built a 3-0 lead as Chris Patterson scored on an error, followed by a Bryan Soto RBI double to left in the first which made it 2-0. Patterson then went deep with two out in the third to make it 3-0.
 
Each of Milligan's first three runs was scored with two out. In fact, in both cases Milligan scored after the first two batters in the inning were put out.
 
Another error allowed Milligan to score one more time in the fifth inning as a leadoff double from Jascanel Fererras allowed him to score three batters later.
 
Patterson finished game one 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Soto and Pearson contributed with a hit apiece, each coming in the form of a double.
 
In game two, Milligan trailed 3-0 before responding to tie it at 3-3 with a three-run fifth, then the Buffs looked to overcome a 6-3 lead in the seventh but fell short. Starting pitcher Chandler Daniels overcame a slow start which saw him allow the first four batters of the game reach base. After a pair of singles and a pair of walks, Daniels escaped the inning then watched the Buffs roar back with two home runs in the fifth.
 
Fererras hit the first one, a solo shot to left field on a 2-2 count which made it 3-1. Two batters later, Patterson hit a two-run shot, scoring Andrew Copas who had singled, to make it 3-3.
 
Home runs were key in the final inning, too, as Patterson launched his 11th of the season and third of the TWU series with one out in the seventh followed by a solo shot from Justin Pearson with two out. Pearson's was his third of the season and made it 6-5, and the Buffs even put the tying run in scoring position later in the inning but could not push it across.
 
Juan Vasquez kept the final inning alive with a two-out walk where he was down to his final strike twice. Ryan Young, in a pinch-hit appearance, looked to do the same, battling back from an 0-2 count to make it 3-2, but flew out to right to end the game.
 
Patterson once again led the Buffs at the dish with a 2-for-4, three-RBI effort. Vasquez and Nate Clifton also finished with multiple hits in game two. Altogether, the Buffs hit four home runs in the series finale.
 
For Patterson, all 11 home runs have come in the last 16 games. He also has 27 RBI's and 21 runs scored during this stretch.
 
On the bump, Daniels finished with a line of 5.1 innings, eight hits, six runs, three walks and three strikeouts. Dustin Cole closed the bottom of the sixth with a hit and two punchouts in two-thirds of an inning.
 
Next up for Milligan is University of the Cumberlands, scheduled for Tuesday in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. on Anglin Field. The Buffs will also be at home next weekend.