Milligan wins in AAC opener
The Milligan College baseball team used their extra day in February to open up Appalachian Athletic Conference play with a 2-1 win against St. Andrews University Saturday afternoon.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Andrews
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
|
Milligan
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 29, 2020) – The Milligan College baseball team used their extra day in February to open up Appalachian Athletic Conference play with a 2-1 win against St. Andrews University Saturday afternoon.
Pitching duel
Brock Browning got the start for the Buffs and was able to go seven innings, giving up only one hit, one run (unearned) and striking out four. Caleb Wilson came in for relief in the eighth, going two-thirds of an inning before Brian Baxa came in with two out and bases loaded and was able to get the third out of the inning and avoid any damage. Baxa was able to secure the final three outs of the game with two strikeouts and a popup to the infield.
Browning picked up his third win of the season and Baxa earned his second save.
Davis O'Brien got the start for the Knights and went the distance throwing eight innings, giving up seven hits, two runs, one earned, one walk and striking out 11.
Scoring
Milligan got on the board first in the bottom of the second with Chance Hall starting the inning off with a single in the hole between short and third, followed by a Richard Polinsky single to left field. Kirby Smith bunted Hall and Polinsky over to third and second before Hall scored on an Augustus Fraley RBI.
Milligan was then able to score again in the bottom of the third when Ben Grable started things out for the Buffs with a hit to the infield and advanced to second on a St. Andrews throwing error. Brandon Marello then hit the ball off the right field wall to score Grable and put the Buffs up 2-0.
In the top of the fifth, St. Andrews avoided a shutout with a sacrifice fly that scored Jeremiah Hendrix to cut Milligan's lead down to one. Both Browning and O'Brien would retire the side in order for the next two innings before Milligan saw an opportunity to score in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on third and St. Andrews threatened Milligan's lead with bases loaded in the top of the eighth.
Up next
Milligan and St. Andrews will be back in action again Sunday, March 1, to finish the AAC series opener. First pitch for game one of the doubleheader will be at 1 p.m. at TVA Credit Union Ballpark with game two following at approximately 3 p.m.