ATHENS, Tenn. — The No. 21-ranked Milligan University baseball squad concluded their road trip to Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens on Saturday, playing the No. 16-ranked team in the nation in a doubleheader. Following a hard-fought 4-3 loss to clinch a series loss for the Buffs, they salvaged the finale 6-2 to take some momentum into their final series of the campaign.
For the second day in a row,
Braxton Baird led off the game with a solo homer, giving the Buffaloes an early 1-0 lead.
Immediately, however, the Bulldogs scored three times in the bottom of the first to take the lead for the first time. A RBI double, a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single made it a 3-1 game after one.
One more TWU tally would come in the bottom of the second, as a ground-rule double plated the fourth run of the contest for the hosts, giving them a 4-1 lead.
Neither offense could build much of anything for the rest of the game, other than the Buffs loading the bases with two out in the top of the fourth inning. They could not score that time around, however.
Later, they would grab a pair of tallies in the top of the eighth frame, as Baird left the yard for the second time in the game to cut the TWU lead to 4-2. Then, a
Brody Melton single, a
Nick Iezzi walk and a
Wyatt Heidle RBI single to center resulted in a run being scored to make it a 4-3 game. Those at-bats all came with two outs.Â
In the ninth, the Buffaloes got a one-out pinch-hit single by
Josh Lail before a walk by Baird to put runners at first and second with one away. A strikeout and a foulout after that, though, ended the game in a 4-3 loss.
The latter tilt started beautifully for Milligan, as they put up a three spot in the top of the first frame. Baird walked to start the inning, before Melton drove him in on a RBI double. Iezzi followed with a run-scoring single to make it 2-0 and he immediately advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then, Heidle singled into left to drive in Iezzi and put MU up 3-0.
The Buffs would later extend their lead to 4-0 in the third, as with runners at first and third, Iezzi got into a rundown between first and second to allow
Gaven Jones to score from third base.
A Tennessee Wesleyan solo homer in the bottom of the fourth got them on the board with a 4-1 deficit.
With runners at first and second in the top of the sixth, the Buffaloes saw a bunt single from Iezzi result in
Miller Spence coming around from second to score and make it 5-1.
The bottom of the sixth inning added one more run for the Bulldogs, as they tallied it on a wild pitch. The score was 5-2 for the Buffs after six.
Baird would end up coming in to score after walking to start the top of the seventh. He stole both second and third, before
Cade Kalehuawehe reached base on an error, on which Baird made it 6-2 by crossing the dish.
In the seven-inning tilt, the Buffaloes held off TWU in the bottom of the seventh to take home one win by a final of 6-2.
Baird (4-for-6, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB) tore the cover off the ball all day to lead the squad. Melton (4-for-7, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB) was also an important offensive piece on Saturday, while Heidle had three hits in eight tries and Iezzi went 2-for-4 as the remaining two players with multiple knocks. Jones, Kalehuawehe, Lail and
Landon Lutterman tallied the other four hits.Â
Game one's starter on the bump was
Jonah Ward, who tossed five innings of four-run ball on five hits with a pair of strikeouts and two walks. He was followed by
Kaleb Meredith, who hurled a scoreless frame with just one hit allowed. Lastly,
Sai Vickers did not allow a hit, alongside two walks in the final two frames.
The second battle was started and finished by
Jack McLaury, who completed the seven-inning contest and allowed just two runs on seven base hits. He struck out four and issued just two bases on balls in the process of earning his seventh win of the campaign.
The Buffs (36-10, 20-4 AAC) will look to build off the momentum of the game-three win against TWU as they host the No. 4-ranked Johnson University Royals with the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular-season title on the line. Both teams enter the series with four AAC losses, meaning that the winner of the series will earn the top seed of the AAC Tournament. Game one of the series is set for Thursday, April 23 at 4 p.m. on Anglin Field.
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