LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - On Tuesday afternoon, the Milligan University baseball squad trekked to north-central Georgia for a non-conference contest against the No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies. The Buffaloes played a strong first five-and-a-half frames before the train went off the tracks in a 14-4 run-rule loss to the national powerhouse squad in seven innings.
The first run of the contest came via an RBI single for the Grizzlies in the bottom of the third frame.
Quickly, the Buffs responded by scoring one of their own in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by Landon Lutterman, which scored Brody Melton.
One inning later, Gaven Jones drove in Angel Lobo with a sacrifice fly to give the Buffaloes a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of inning number five.
The GGC offense nabbed an infield single in the bottom of the fifth frame, knotting the tally at two apiece.
Milligan's most prolific inning of the battle came in the top of the sixth, when both Lutterman and Lobo delivered run-scoring doubles to give the Buffs a 4-2 advantage. Melton and Lutterman scored on the two-baggers.
Then, the Grizzlies showed why they are the second-highest ranked team in the nation. They scored seven times in the sixth, and five more runs in the seventh, for 12 unanswered runs to end the contest early after trailing entering the last half of the sixth.
Overall, MU had eight hits in the contest, with Lutterman and Lobo provided half of that output. Three of the team's four hits were two-base knocks from Lutterman and Lobo, as well. Otherwise, Braxton Baird, Cade Kalehuawehe, Melton and Jones picked up hits.
It was a pieced together day on the mound in the midweek tilt, with Wesley Babcock toeing the slab for the first three innings and allowing one run on four hits. He faced three high-intensity innings with four walks and four strikeouts, as well. T.J. Kuhn afforded GGC a run on one hit and two walks, while nabbing two punchouts. Brady Thomas pitched an inning and allowed two runs on two hits, and Creed Werker and Peyton Murphy allowed five runs on five hits across the final inning of work.
A heralded opponent felled the Buffaloes on Tuesday, and Milligan must regroup before hosting the Montreat College Cavaliers in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series on Friday, Apr. 18 and Saturday, Apr. 19. The Friday contest is set for 4 p.m. on Anglin Field.
