Defense standing out for Buffs this preseason

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Feb. 10, 2021) – Wes Holly, the 903-win, 33rd-season Milligan University head softball coach, says if his team's bats come around this season, the Buffs are going to be dangerous.

Milligan gets its first test Wednesday in a road doubleheader against nearby Montreat, set to be a nonconference twin bill against the Appalachian Athletic Conference opponent. It will mark the long-anticipated start of the 2021 season for the Buffs, and Holly says they have looked good in many ways this preseason.

"I am very proud of the girls this preseason," he says. "They have been working hard in conditioning and working on their individual skills. I think they are anxious and excited to get to play, and I think we are going to have a successful season. Last year was disappointing ending our season after 10 games, so we are hopeful we can have a full season this year. This year we are stressing the importance of staying safe so we can have a good season."

Strengths of this year's team

Holly says the core of the team will be its defense and pitching staff.

"Our team is really talented," he says. "Our defense has looked solid, and we brought in some extra pitching this year. One of the focuses of preseason has been hitting, and I think if our hitting comes around, we will be in the thick of things in the conference this year."

Returning to the pitching staff is Erin Forgety, who posted the second-lowest ERA in the AAC in the partial 2020 season, along with Allee Griffith and Kara Weems, who combined to allow only one earned run in 12 innings of work last season.

Lainey Mays, also the team's hitting leader, and Kendyl McCollister each saw some work inside the circle last season, and Holly also brings in Kesney Brown and Cloee-Anna Merritt as additions to the pitching staff.

"We are really strong across the board pitching-wise," Forgety says. "We are deeper than we have been in years past, and I'm really looking forward to what the new girls will bring. They have been really fun to work with in practice."

Forgety also notes how the team has looked defensively this preseason and the talent and depth the Buffs have at every position.

"We are looking to graduate several seniors this year," Forgety says. "Our underclassmen, especially our sophomore class, has done a really good job of stepping up into leadership roles. I am excited to see what they will accomplish over the next couple of years."

Countering Milligan's pitching staff will be a lineup that features notable senior returners Mays and Savannah Nocera. Mays batted .391 while Nocera hit .350 last season, and the two combined for seven RBI's and 15 runs scored in the partial last season.

On the schedule | AAC outlook

The Buffs have a full slate this semester, starting with the road trip to Montreat and continuing with three more nonconference doubleheaders prior to the start of the AAC season on March 7.

The conference schedule will feature 26 games, including preseason No. 9 Truett at home on April 17 and preseason No. 21 Reinhardt on the road March 21. The Buffs were picked to finish eighth in the league this season according to the AAC preseason coaches poll.

"I think with the talent we have, our girls will have something to say about that before the season is over," Holly says. "We know that the real rewards will be earned postseason rather than preseason."

And the Buffs have historically played their best in the postseason.

Two seasons ago, they went into the AAC tournament as the No. 7 seed before rallying through the elimination bracket to advance to the championship game. Two seasons before that, they made their second straight trip to the NAIA Softball National Championship after storming their way through the league tournament.

As good as the Buffs have been in the past few postseasons, Nocera, a 2018 All-AAC selection, says the Buffs will look to start the season strong. After all, the cancelation of last season showed them that nothing is guaranteed.

"We typically do well postseason, but this year we want to focus on starting off right," she says. "When we started one of our first practices, we addressed some of the team's goals of working toward postseason and being regular-season champions. That starts with coming out of the gate strong."