KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament action continued for the No. 11-ranked Milligan University baseball team on Friday at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport. After staying alive by beating No. 4 Spartanburg Methodist 6-2 in a win-or-go-home matchup in the morning, the Buffs were cut down by the No. 6-seeded Bryan Lions 7-4 to end their AAC Tournament title hopes later in the afternoon.
Game one against the Pioneers of Spartanburg Methodist began with a quick 2-0 deficit in the top of the first for the Buffaloes. A RBI single and a RBI groundout for No. 4-seeded SMC put them ahead early.
Milligan quickly responded in the bottom half with a
Brody Melton two-run double to plate both
Braxton Baird and
Gaven Jones. It was a 2-2 game after one.
After a scoreless top of the second, the Buffaloes tacked on two more runs to their tally.
Miller Spence and
Luis Quintero came around to score on a two-run single by
Cade Kalehuawehe to make it a 4-2 MU lead.
Following a scoreless third for both sides and an empty top of the fourth for the Pioneers, the Buffs snatched another tally, as Jones came in to score on another single by Kalehuawehe. Milligan extended their lead to three runs at 5-2 at that point.
Then, with runners at second and third in the fifth with one out,
Reagan Smith bounced a groundout to shortstop that scored
Andrew Beavers from third base to make it 6-2 after five frames.
The Buffs shut down the Pioneers the rest of the way, hanging on to their 6-2 triumph.
The Milligan offense was able to put up nine hits in the opener, as Kalehuawehe (2-for-5, 3 RBI) and Quintero (2-for-3, R) both supplied two of them. Baird, Jones, Melton, Spence and
Wyatt Heidle had the other five.
Jonah Ward pitched a complete game, allowing two runs in the first inning and then never giving up another. He afforded SMC six hits but struck out nine and walked only two in the victory to move to 8-2 for the campaign on the hill.
Game two of the day for the Buffaloes was a rematch with the No. 6-seeded Bryan College Lions, who upended the Buffs 2-1 to start the tourney. Things looked grim early on for MU, as the Lions grabbed a two-out RBI double in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead.
Once Milligan was retired in order in the bottom of the second, Bryan unfurled a furious three-run inning that included a leadoff solo homer, a RBI double and a run-scoring single off the right-field wall down the line. It was a 4-0 game with the Buffs only having taken two trips to bat. To make matters worse, MU then stranded two more runners at second and third to total three runners in scoring position left on over their first three chances at the plate.
Bryan would only continue to build their advantage, scoring a solo homer in the seventh and a RBI single in the eighth to lead 6-0.
In the bottom of the eighth, a one-out single by Baird was followed by a hit-by-pitch on Jones and a single to left by Kalehuawehe. Then, Melton delivered a bases-loaded walk to finally get MU on the board.
Nick Iezzi would then ground out to bring home the second run, pushing the score to 6-2 in Bryan's favor after eight.
A wild pitch allowed another run to the Lions in the top of the ninth as an insurance tally, putting Milligan behind by five runs with just one trip to the plate remaining.
The Buffaloes would pick up a pair of runs on a RBI single by Baird to score
Landon Lutterman with one out, as well as a sac fly by Jones to plate
Nick Moss, before being retired for the final time in their 7-4 loss.
The Buffaloes had as many hits in the second game of the day as they did in the first. Baird led the way with three hits in five trips to the dish, while one of those was a double. No one else had multiple knocks, as Jones, Kalehuawehe, Quintero, Lutterman, Smith and Moss combined to provide the remaining six. Those hits were all singles.
A litany of typical relief arms combined to pitch the nine innings for the Buffs.
Sai Vickers went just 2.1 innings and allowed four earned runs on six hits. He was followed by
Cole Wessel, who gave up three hits in 1.2 frames with a strikeout.
Kaleb Meredith pitched the majority of the contest (3.2 IP), giving up two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts and two walks. Lastly,
Devin Gutierrez completed the final 1.1 frames and allowed an unearned run on no hits with a walk and two punchouts.
The AAC Tournament run came to an end for the Buffs (40-13, 22-5 AAC), as Bryan had their number this week. Though they fell in the semifinal round of this tourney for the third straight campaign, they hold a resume that will likely earn them an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament. Their 40th win of the season, achieved on Friday, tied them with the 2009 Milligan baseball team for the most wins in a single season in program history. The squad will be watching intently on Wednesday, May 6 at 5 p.m. ET when the NAIA Selection Show reveals if, where and when the Buffaloes may be playing in the national postseason.
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