BLUEFIELD, Va. (March 16, 2018) â€" One of the highest scoring games of the season for the Milligan College baseball team's offense proved not to be enough as the Buffs fell at Bluefield College, 16-8, in the opener of a three-game Appalachian Athletic Conference series on Friday night.
 
The loss put Milligan at 6-15 (2-5 AAC) this season.
 
MILLIGAN'S EARLY LEAD
Milligan jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the top of the first inning. Three of those runs came off the bat of a bases-clearing double from Bailey Russell with two out, then Russell was brought home in the next at-bat on a Thomas Miller single to make it 4-0.
 
BLUEFIELD'S SURGE
The lead was only short lived for Milligan, however, as Bluefield posted a nine-run second inning to go into the lead for good. Milligan trimmed the deficit to 10-8 midway through the fifth inning but it was all the scoring the Buffs would do, and Bluefield expanded its lead with six more runs over its last four frames.
 
LEADERS
The Buffs recorded 10 hits from five players. Leading the way was Jascanel Ferreras with a 3-for-4 effort, followed by Cameron Harper (2-for-5), Ryan Young (2-for-4) and Miller (2-for-4).
 
Connor Simpson made the start on the hill but lasted only 1.1 innings. He surrendered only one hit but was tagged with six runs, three of which were earned. Garrett Hartley, Chandler Daniels and Conor Cotton all saw action out of the bullpen.
 
UP NEXT
Milligan and Bluefield will conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday. After that, the Buffs have a midweek nonconference doubleheader on the road next week before returning home for an AAC series against No. 23 Reinhardt University.