WEST POINT, Ga. (April 14, 2018) â€" Freshman Garrett Hartley struck out seven and allowed only two hits on the way to his first shutout of the season to lead the Milligan College baseball team to victory in the rubber game of an Appalachian Athletic Conference series against Point University. After scoring six runs in the sixth inning, Milligan put the run rule into effect, winning 11-0 in seven innings.
 
The win was Milligan's third straight win in a deciding series finale and improved the Buffs to 16-23 (10-11 AAC) as they have reached the midpoint of a 10-game road swing. With series victories each of the last three weekends, Milligan has climbed to fifth in conference standing.
 
HARTLEY'S GEM
Hartley's two-hit bid saw him allow his first base runner, via a single, with one out in the third inning, although the left hander still faced the minimum through the first five innings. The second hit Hartley allowed came in the sixth inning and represented Point's first real scoring opportunity, but by then the Buffs were already our front 10-0.
 
HARPER STAYS HOT
The 10-0 lead Milligan had built by the midpoint of the sixth was mostly due to a 4-for-5 effort from Camron Harper. Harper singled and scored along with a solo home run by Juan Vasquez in the second inning to make it 2-0, then Harper singled and scored along with three other Buff hits and four Point errors in the sixth to make it 10-0.
 
Harper's recent success has included an 11-game hitting streak, and he has multiple hits in six of those 11 games. In the Point series, Harper went 9-for-12 with four runs and five RBI's.
 
OTHER LEADERS
Harper was one of four Buffs with multiple hits in the Point finale, and the Buffs collected 14 total as a team. Clayton Conner, who homered in Friday's split twin bill, went 2-for-5; Thomas Miller went 2-for-5; and Vasquez went 2-for-4.
 
Hartley's winning line was seven innings, two hits, no runs, two walks and seven strikeouts. He improved to 4-3.
 
UP NEXT
Milligan will stay on the road and head to University of the Cumberlands on Tuesday for a midweek nonconference doubleheader. Next weekend will feature a road AAC series, but the Buffs will be at home for the final series of the regular season as they host Tennessee Wesleyan University on Friday-Saturday, April 27-28.