MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (April 22, 2018) â€" The Milligan College softball team connected for three home runs on Sunday afternoon in a nonconference doubleheader against NCAA DII Tusculum College but it proved not enough as the Buffaloes dropped games one and two to the Pioneers (10-3, 10-9).

The sweep marked the end of the regular season for the Buffs (22-18, 15-9 AAC) as they approach the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament.

GAME ONE | PIONEERS LEAD EARLY
Despite a scoreless first inning, Tusculum touched home twice after a single and a triple in the second and scored another run in the third. In response, the Buffs' Erica Roller and Neelee Griffith each doubled to deep left center enabling the first run for Milligan (3-1). Tusculum earned two more runs in the fourth. However, Griffith stepped back up to the plate blasting a two-run home run in attempt to fight back (5-3). Nonetheless, the Pioneers pushed for five more runs to seal their first victory of the day (10-3).

GAME TWO | BUFFS LEAD UNTIL SEVENTH
Tusculum's Brittney Franse hit a homer over the left field fence immediately in the first inning but Roller matched it with a homer of her own over the right field fence in the bottom of the first (1-1). Milligan snowballed on top of the homer in the second and third innings scoring five runs all the while holding the Pioneers scoreless.

Kayla Baker's single to the pitcher's mound scored Rachel Coffey in the second and Kaylee Frascatore's double to deep center scored Morgan Overholser and Savannah Nocera. Freshman Taylor Begley's double down the right field line scored Coffey and Frascatore to round out the early rally by the Buffs (6-1).

Two runs were scored apiece by both teams in the fourth (8-3), but it was only up from there for Tusculum. The Pioneers touched home once in the fifth but swung for six hits enabling three more runs in the sixth to put them only one run behind (8-7). Griffith's second homer of the day, her 10th of the season, pushed the lead to two runs going into the seventh (9-7) but it ultimately proved not enough.

The Pioneers' Gabby Williams hit a two-run home run over the right field fence to score the tying run while Emma Casey slid home for the winning run shortly after (10-9).

LEADERS
In game one, Roller went 3-for-4 while Griffith went 2-for-4, three RBI's. Overholser, Coffey, Kirstan Beaver and Nocera all accounted for a hit.

In game two, Nocera, Coffey and Frascatore all earned two hits apiece. Frascatore tallied three RBI's while Begley tallied two. Baker, Roller and Griffith all added an RBI apiece.

UP NEXT
The Buffs earned the No. 5 seed for the AAC tournament which is set to begin on Wednesday, April 25. Milligan will face No. 4 Reinhardt in the opening round at 11 a.m. at the Brickyard Ball Fields in Kingsport, Tennessee.