MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Tuesday, the Milligan University baseball squad aimed to grab a couple more victories in the Clash of Conferences event. This time, they hosted the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears for two seven-inning matchups. Though the Milligan lineup was not particularly consistent, their pitching picked up the slack in a pair of two-run triumphs.

The opener saw no scoring until inning number three, when the Golden Bears led off the frame with a single. They then would advance that runner to second on a sacrifice bunt and score him with a two-out RBI single into center field. It was a 1-0 WVU Tech lead at that point.

That edge would remain through the bottom of the third and be doubled in the top of the fourth, when a two-out walk preceded an infield single with an error tacked on to the end of the play to allow the runner on first to go all the way to third. Then, a single into right-center field made it 2-0 in the visitors' favor.

Milligan's offense struggled mightily, managing just a single hit through five trips to the plate, but they finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. The squad quadrupled their hit total for the game in the inning, as a leadoff walk by Gaven Jones was followed by an RBI double off the bat of a blazing hot Nick Iezzi. Immediately after that, Brody Melton delivered a run-scoring single into left to chase Iezzi home. With the score tied, the Buffs then had Luis Quintero wear an errant pitch to put two on with no outs. A sac bunt and a walk would come next, as the bases became loaded for Cole Hartley, who rolled a two-run single up the middle of a drawn in infield to score Melton and Quintero and give Milligan a 4-2 lead.

The Golden Bears picked up a two-out hit in the top of the seventh, but that was all, as the door was slammed on them with a strikeout to end the tilt.

Another low-scoring bout came later in the afternoon, as MU scored first in the second inning. A leadoff double by Iezzi preceded a pair of walks to Melton and Josh Lail. With one out, Christian Pawl drew a walk with the bases loaded to force in the first run of the frame. Later, the Buffaloes capitalized on a wild pitch, as Melton crossed the dish for the team's second run.

Not much action took place from then until the bottom of the fifth, when MU grabbed their third run of the battle. It came after a two-out walk was surrendered to Jones and he stole second on the first pitch of the next at-bat. Then, after Jones reached third on a wild pitch, Iezzi drove in another run with an RBI single into right. It was a 3-0 lead for the Buffs at that juncture.

Milligan would keep a no-hitter intact into the top of the seventh inning. They retired the first hitter of the frame, but then allowed a single to right field to break it up with two outs left to account for. Later in the inning, the Golden Bears ended up scoring their lone run of the contest on an RBI single, ultimately falling short by a final of 3-1.

Iezzi went 3-for-6 on the day with two more RBI to raise his season total to eight. He had two more doubles on the day, as well. The only other hitter on the day with multiple hits for Milligan was Hartley, who went 2-for-3 in game one with a pair of runs batted in. Braxton Baird, Cade Kalehuawehe, Landon Lutterman, Melton and Lail all had a single hit on the afternoon.

Jonah Ward (3.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 K, BB) and Cole Wessel (3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 K, winning pitcher) combined to hold the WVU Tech bats at bay in game one, as Wessel earned his first win at the collegiate level in his first career appearance.

Jack McLaury (4 IP, 3 K, BB) and Sai Vickers (2 IP, 2K) teamed up to allow no hits through six innings of work on the hill in the second tilt, while Conner Hendrix (1 IP, ER, 2 H, BB) closed out the game, notching his first career save in the process.

It is now time for the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) slate to get under way, as the Buffaloes (7-0) will host the University of Pikeville (Ky.) Bears on Friday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. on Anglin Field for a nine-inning game, opening a three-game set that will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 14.