TALLADEGA, Ala. – On Friday, the Milligan baseball squad closed out their opening series of the 2026 campaign against the Talladega College Tornadoes in Alabama. What was originally scheduled to be two seven-inning contests ended up being shortened to one nine-inning battle, due to incoming weather. The Buffs took advantage of several free passes given to them in the late stages of the game, scoring six of the game's final seven runs to earn a 12-7 win and a series sweep.

For the third game in a row, the Tornadoes crossed the plate first, as a leadoff double led to a manufactured first run of the contest in the bottom of the first frame.

Milligan did not wait long to respond, scoring one of their own in the top of the second. A Gaven Jones one-out single started the rally, as he ended up stealing second during the next at-bat. A fly out made it two away in the frame with Jones at second, before the Talladega defense did MU a favor by committing a costly error at shortstop to allow Wyatt Heidle to reach base and Jones to score. That would tie the game at 1-1.

An immediate strike by TC came in the bottom of inning number two, as a double, a single and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with one out. Then, an RBI single where each runner moved up a station brought home a run. That was followed by a sacrifice fly, making it a 3-1 ballgame in favor of the hosts.

After a quiet third inning, the Buffs broke through in a big way in the top of the fourth. Following a leadoff flyout, Brody Melton singled and Nick Iezzi worked a walk to put two on with one away. Jones notched an RBI single, driving Melton in from second and advancing Iezzi to third base. That made it a 3-2 game for Talladega. A force out would be completed on the next at-bat, making it two outs with runners at the corners for Heidle, who launched the first Milligan round-tripper of the 2026 season, bringing three runs across the plate to give MU a 5-3 lead after three-and-a-half innings played.

The top of the fifth brought another run across for the Buffaloes, as Cole Hartley wore a leadoff hit-by-pitch and Braxton Baird followed with a single, advancing Hartley to third. Hartley would eventually cross the plate on a double-play grounder, making it 6-3.

Talladega finally returned to the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth, as an RBI single and a stolen base that accrued an errant throw into the outfield allowed a runner to score the second run of the inning. Following the sixth, it was just a one-run Milligan lead, at 6-5.

An unfortunate turn of events took place in the bottom of the seventh for the Buffs, as the leadoff TC hitter singled through the left side of the infield but was allowed to head all the way to third, as the ball rolled under the left fielder's glove. An immediate RBI groundout tied the score at 6-6, which is where the score remained entering the contest's final two innings.

A massive top of the eighth would ensue for Milligan, as much of the frame was aided by six walks from Talladega pitching. A single by Cade Kalehuawehe began the frame, and Iezzi and Jones walked back-to-back with one out, before Josh Lail provided an RBI single to give the Buffaloes the lead back at 7-6. RBI walks from Heidle, Landon Lutterman and Baird brought home Iezzi, Jones and Lail. The 10-6 lead would be added to by Kalehuawehe's second single of the inning, this time driving in Andrew Beavers and Heidle to make it 12-6.

The Tornadoes grabbed a run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single with men on first and second. That made it a 12-7 contest with just three outs left to record for the Buffs.

After a scoreless top of the ninth, the first two batters of the bottom half reached base, occupying the corners with no one out. Then, though, a shallow flyout and a popout added two outs to the board. Lastly, a flyout to center field ended the game, as Milligan notched a 12-7 win to move to 3-0 on the young season.

Three Milligan hitters collected two hits in the bout, with Kalehuawehe (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Baird (2-for-4, RBI, BB) and Jones (2-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, 2 R, SB) providing the knocks. Heidle (1-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, BB) had the massive swing for the team in the early stages, and Lail and Lutterman also tallied an RBI each. Lail and Melton were responsible for the two remaining of the team's nine hits.

Milligan leaned on two pitchers for the majority of this contest, with Jonah Ward drawing the start. Ward hurled three full innings of three-run work, allowing six hits and striking out a pair of Talladega batters. Jack McLaury had a strong performance out of the bullpen, ultimately earning the win with five frames of work. He allowed two earned runs, and two unearned runs also scored on his watch, while he walked a pair of hitters. Seven TC hitters notched base hits, but McLaury punched out eight opponents, as he is now the Buffs' individual leader in that category at this point in the season. Devin Gutierrez staved off a scare in the bottom of the ninth after allowing two men to reach, as he retired the next three hitters in order to end the game. He gave up a walk and a hit in one inning on the slab.
 
The Buffaloes (3-0) will now look ahead to their highly anticipated Clash of Conferences tournament on Anglin Field on Feb. 6-7. The first opponents for Milligan will be the WVU Tech Golen Bears at 11 a.m. on Feb. 6 and the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats at 5 p.m. that evening. Click HERE to see the full tournament schedule.