MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Friday afternoon, the (RV) Milligan Buffaloes baseball squad welcomed Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Montreat College to Anglin Field for a doubleheader. Both sides came into the day with strong positioning in the conference standings, as the Buffs were sitting in third place while Montreat was in fifth. After a quick start for the Cavaliers in game one, the Buffaloes exploded in the seventh inning to capture a game-one win and closed the day with stout pitching and another offensive outburst in game two to sweep the series 2-0 by scores of 11-9 and 11-2. The pair of wins marks the fastest a Milligan team has recorded 30 wins in a season.
Game one started with Montreat putting a tally on the board to jump out to a quick lead, as a leadoff double, bunt single and sacrifice fly in the first three batters resulted in a run. An inning-ending double play shut down the fast-paced start for the Cavaliers. Over the next two and a half innings, neither side managed a hit until Montreat got the bats going to add a run, extending the advantage to 2-0. Issues getting outs on bunt attempts plagued the Buffs' defense, with two sacrifice bunt attempts resulting in both hitters getting aboard. A sacrifice fly pushed the second run across.
Both offenses stayed off the board until the Buffs evened the score with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Braxton Baird got the offense going with a leadoff ground-rule double.
Gaven Jones kept things moving with a sharply hit single up the middle to put runners on the corners. Jones put runners in scoring position with a steal of second. Then,
Brody Melton capitalized on the momentum with a two-RBI single to knot the scoreboard at two.
In the next inning, Montreat opened a four-run lead with four runs. It looked as if the Cavaliers were in the driver's seat after a two-RBI double and a single, with two runs scoring on Milligan defensive miscues to put them ahead 6-2. However, a gigantic bottom half of the inning from Milligan turned the tide.
The bottom of the seventh resulted in nine runs on eight hits, breaking the game open for Milligan. In an inning where the Buffs' offense came to life, six straight hits from
Reagan Smith,
Nick Moss, Baird, Jones,
Cade Kalehuawehe and Melton started the rally. Baird, Jones and Kalehuawehe's base knocks all resulted in RBIs, and
Wyatt Heidle added to the offensive onslaught with a fourth run-producing at-bat.
Nick Iezzi showed no mercy on the Cavaliers with a single to score two runs. Then, Moss added on to what seemed like a never-ending inning with a laser into center field, adding two more runs to put the Buffs ahead 11-6 after the inning.
Montreat battled back with a three-run response in the eighth. However, after going scoreless in the bottom of the eighth, Milligan avoided any damage in the ninth to capture an 11-9 victory in game one.
Milligan kept the hot offense rolling into game two, pushing a run across in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Melton produced the run on a fielder's choice after Baird reached third with a leadoff double and moved up 90 feet on a groundout.
It was not until the fifth inning that Milligan added what seemed to be an extremely valuable second tally, with
Canyon Geren keeping Montreat at bay through five scoreless innings. Jones led off the fifth with a three-bagger, and Kalehuawehe hit a fly ball to bring home the speedy Jones.
The Cavaliers answered with the game-tying runs in the sixth, as a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring play on a steal attempt resulted in two runs.
In a seven-inning game in the twin bill, a nine-run eruption in the sixth inning from Milligan left little doubt about the conclusion of the contest. Doubles from
Landon Lutterman and
Reagan Smith to lead off the inning put Montreat in trouble to start the frame. Smith's double brought in Heidle from second base. Then, a well-placed bunt from Moss continued the hot start to the inning, and a Baird single brought in Smith, still without an out recorded.
Gaven Jones smashed a ball deep to center, and despite it staying in the park for a flyout, it brought in two runs with a sacrifice fly while Baird also scored on a throwing error. With significant damage already done, Kalehuawehe added on with a solo shot to straightaway center, putting the Buffs ahead 7-2 at this point. Quintero and Lutterman decided Milligan was not done yet, adding on two base hits to an already outstanding inning for Milligan's offense. Smith capped off the inning and the day with a three-run blast, extending the Buff advantage to 11-2 going into the seventh and final inning.
Milligan kept Montreat off the board in the seventh to earn their second victory of the day, 11-2.
Moss led the way with six hits in eight at-bats on the afternoon. He also scored two runs. Baird, Jones and Smith all went 5-for-9, 3-for-8 and 4-for-8 respectively, as they combined to drive in six runs and score 10 times across the 14 innings. Kalehuawehe (HR, 3 RBI), Lutterman (2B, 2 R) and Quintero (1 RBI) all supplied two hits on the day, and Melton (3 RBI) and Iezzi (2 RBI) combined for five hits.
The pitching in game one was taken care of by
Jack McLaury (6.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K),
Tucker Webb (W, 3-0, 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB) and
Sai Vickers (1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K).
A seven-inning complete game was twirled by
Canyon Geren in the latter tilt, as he struck out six batters and walked one. He allowed two runs on four hits in the win to move to 6-0 on the campaign.
Next up is the series finale on Saturday, April 4, hosted at Anglin Field. The contest will also mark Senior Day for the Buffaloes. Due to inclement weather, first pitch has been moved up from 12 p.m. to 11 a.m. A Senior Day ceremony will take place at the conclusion of the contest.
Â
