MILLIGAN, Tenn. – Wednesday afternoon brought the first games at Anglin Softball Field in 2026, as the Lady Buffaloes hosted the NCAA DII opponent of Lees-McRae College for a doubleheader. The matchups marked the first time since 2018 the Bobcats and Buffs faced off. Last time around the Buffs won 8-6, this time the two games were split 1-1. The Bobcats won the first game 7-5, but the Buffs came back in the afternoon and picked up a 5-4 win.

The contest began with a leadoff walk for the Bobcats and after two stolen bases a sacrifice fly plated the game's first run for the Bobcats. The Lady Buffs went three up, three down in the bottom half of the inning and trailed 1-0.

Mollie Johnson tallied the first hit for Milligan in the second inning, and Jaylyn Halliburton followed with a double. Then, with runners in scoring position Alana Parsons blasted a three-run homer over the right field wall to put the Buffs ahead 3-1.

In the top of the third, the Bobcats put their first two hitters on base with two singles, and a one-out bases clearing home run put them back on top 4-3. However, the Milligan bats stayed hot in the bottom of the inning, as Ashley Worley led off with a single. After that, Hailey Vigil was hit by a pitch and stole second base. In a clutch situation, Jordan Roulettwheeler smacked a double over the center fielder's head to power the Buffs to a 5-4 lead.
 
In the sixth, Lees-McRae led off with a single. Then, a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second and a ground ball past the second baseman scored the runner to knot the game at five.
 
The final inning began with a one-out single for the Bobcats, followed by a line drive that put runners at the corners. A ground ball to the shortstop led to a play at the plate, but the throw was just late and the Bobcats regained the lead, 6-5. The next batter grounded out, but the runner from third scored to extend the advantage to 7-5. 

With a two-run deficit for the Buffs, Kaylee Oler bunted for a hit and stole second to get into scoring position. However, back-to-back diving catches from the second baseman and left fielder for the Bobcats shut the door on the Buffs and they fell by a final of 7-5.

Game two started with two scoreless innings. However, in the bottom of third, a bloop single from Lily Frazier marked the first hit of her collegiate career and put the leadoff batter on base for the Buffs. A sacrifice bunt by Kaylee Oler moved her to second, and a single from Bailey Vitanza brought her home to give Milligan a 1-0 lead. Vitanza's hit was also the first of her collegiate career.
 
Lees-McRae found success with two outs in the fifth, as three consecutive base hits tied the game at 1-1 before extending their lead in the sixth on a two-run home run to make it 3-1. The Buffs answered in the bottom half of the inning when Halliburton reached on an error and Parsons launched a two-run homer to center field, knotting the game at 3-3.

Lees-McRae pushed across a run to open the final inning, taking a 4-3 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Milligan's first two hitters were retired, bringing the Buffs down to their final out. With two outs, Johnson and Roulettwheeler reached base, setting up Jaylyn Halliburton for a walk-off two-run double to give the Buffs their first win of the season, 5-4.

Milligan combined for 19 hits across two games, as they had eight in game one and 11 in the latter tilt. Parsons (3-for-7, 2 HR) led the team with five RBI's on the afternoon, while Worley (2-for-8, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R), Roulettwheeler (3-for-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R), Johnson (3-for-6, 3 R), and Halliburton (2-for-7, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2R) all produced runs for the Buffs. Vitanza also drove in a run on the day.

Bree Presnell (6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 K, 1 BB) and Secrist (1 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, K, BB) teamed up to pitch the entirety of game one, as Secrist was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-1 after allowing the run in the ninth inning.

In game two, Secrist (5.2 IP, 3 ER, 9 H) started the contest. The bout was concluded in the circle by Abigial Teubert (1.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H), with Teubert picking up the first win of her young career.

Head Coach Cassie Fortner earned her first career victory with the afternoon win. Milligan's (1-3) next time on the diamond will be Wednesday, Feb. 25 on the road at West Point, Ga., as the Buffs face Point University, with first pitch set for 12 p.m.