Baseball wins road AAC series at CIU
A pair of strong pitching performances in games one and two led the Milligan University baseball team to a series victory over Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Columbia International Friday and Saturday on the road. The Buffaloes were unable to complete the sweep in Saturday’s finale.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Milligan
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 2 |
|
CIU
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Milligan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
|
CIU
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
Game 3
Game 3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Milligan
|
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
|
CIU
|
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
COLUMBIA, S.C. (April 10, 2021) – A pair of strong pitching performances in games one and two led the Milligan University baseball team to a series victory over Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Columbia International Friday and Saturday on the road. The Buffaloes were unable to complete the sweep in Saturday's finale.
Milligan won Friday's opener 5-3, then split Saturday's doubleheader with an 11-1, run-ruled win in game one and 9-0 loss in game two. After the series, Milligan's record moved to 23-15 (11-9 AAC).
Fraley's pair of singles lift Buffs in game one
Game one of the series featured a pair of RBI singles from Augustus Fraley to help the Buffs win the opener. His first RBI single put Milligan ahead in the second inning, and his second gave the Buffs the lead for good in the sixth. The latter came with two out in a 3-3 ballgame, scoring two to put Milligan on top 5-3, the eventual final score.
Jacob Crumbly and Cobey Allison both went four innings on the hill. Crumbly made the start and allowed five hits and three walks with only two earned runs. Allison went four scoreless with one hit.
Reliever Brian Baxa pitched a perfect ninth to pick up the save, his fourth of the season.
Offense comes to life in game two
The Buffs' bats picked it up in Saturday's first game. Milligan scored two runs in the second inning before Kirby Smith hit a two-run homer in the third inning to make it 4-0. The Buffs then added two more runs in the fourth inning, one in the fifth, three in the seventh and one in the eighth. The last run helped enforce the run rule after eight.
Chancery Hall highlighted the game with a 3-for-4 effort where he hit two triples and tallied three RBI's.
Brandon Marello took the hill and went five innings with only one (unearned) run. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three. Relievers Graham Hooker and Garrett Wilkins went three scoreless innings, Hooker firing two and Wilkins one. The staff combined for a four-hitter with only the one unearned run.
CIU avoids sweep with game-three win
CIU took the early lead with a two-out single in the bottom of the first inning then added two more in the second aided by a Milligan error. It made it 4-0, and the Rams never looked back. A two-run homer in the fourth made it 6-0, and a pair of Milligan errors in the sixth made it 9-0.
Casey Haire led the Buffs at the plate in the finale going 2-for-3.
Up next
Milligan comes home for a midweek doubleheader versus University of the Cumberlands before hitting the road for a midweek single game at Pikeville next week. The Buffaloes will be home for AAC foe Union next weekend.