KINGSPORT, Tenn. – It was win or go home Thursday morning in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament hosted at Hunter Wright Stadium for the one-seeded Milligan University baseball program, as they faced the seventh-seeded Eagles of Reinhardt University. It was a similar situation to last year's tournament, when the Eagles knocked off the Buffs to end their season. This time around, Reinhardt jumped out to an early two-run lead in the first inning, but dominant pitching on the mound kept the Buffs in the game until the seventh inning, when a two-run blast powered Milligan to a 3-2 victory.
The Eagles seized the momentum that they would carry for the majority of the game with a two-run opening frame. The first batter of the inning was retired when Milligan's gold glove catcher
Cade Kalehuawehe made an unassisted out at first base. Then, a single followed by a strikeout led to a two-out rally. A two-out single with both runners advancing 90 feet put them in scoring position, and a clutch single to right field plated the game's first two runs.
Braxton Baird continued to lead the Buffs' offense in the tournament. After a two-for-three day yesterday, he led off with a single. However, the bats went quiet after that, with the next eight batters being retired. Baird returned to the plate in the bottom of the third with two outs and beat the defensive shift from Reinhardt by depositing a ball over the first baseman's head into right field, turning on the jets to leg out a triple.
Gaven Jones capitalized with a clutch RBI double into left to give the Buffs some much-needed momentum on the offensive side and brong them within a run.
After giving up two runs in the first,
Jack McLaury settled in on the mound and began controlling an upset-minded Eagles team that was looking to break the game open against a struggling Buffs offense. He worked himself out of a two-out, runner-at-third situation in the third before settling into a dominant stretch, allowing just one baserunner over the next five innings and erasing him with a double play to keep the Eagles at bay going into the seventh inning.
Wyatt Heidle provided the spark that Milligan's offense was desperately searching for with a two-run blast in the bottom of the seventh.
Landon Lutterman got on board with a walk, and Heidle made the Reinhardt pitcher pay, barreling a ball that sailed over the left field wall to lift the Buffs' spirits.
McLaury continued to dominate with a one-two-three eighth inning. Milligan had a chance to add insurance in the bottom half of the eighth, as the first two hitters, Kalehuawehe and
Brody Melton, reached base.
Nick Iezzi moved them into scoring position with a groundball, but a weak grounder on a check swing squandered the Buffs' opportunity.
McLaury ended his day by getting the first out in the ninth.
Cole Wessel was the first call to the bullpen for the Buffs in the game, coming on to try to hold a one-run lead for Milligan with one out in the ninth. He did just that, striking out consecutive batters to move the Buffs past the Eagles and extend Milligan's tournament run.
The Buffs managed seven hits at the plate. Baird and Heidle each finished 2-for-4 to lead the way, with Baird recording a triple and Heidle a home run with two RBI. Jones went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while Kalehuawehe (1-for-3) and Melton (1-for-4) each added a hit. Lutterman, Smith and Moss each reached base on a walk.
The win was anchored by a dominant outing from
Jack McLaury (8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 K, 0 BB), who picked up his eighth victory of the season. After surrendering two runs in the first inning, McLaury settled in to retire 16 of the next 17 batters he faced, walking none and erasing the lone baserunner with a double play.
Cole Wessel relieved him with one out in the ninth and slammed the door, striking out the final two batters to seal the 3-2 victory and earn his second save of the year.
With the win, Milligan (39-12, 22-5 AAC) will face either No. 4-seeded Spartanburg Methodist College (S.C.) or No. 6-seeded Bryan College (Tenn.) in a Friday morning contest. A loss for either side will eliminate them from the AAC Tournament. First pitch is set for 9 a.m. at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport.
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