Baseball handed first AAC loss by No. 5 Tennessee Wesleyan

ATHENS, Tenn. (March 4, 2022) – In a battle of Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) unbeatens, No. 5 Tennessee Wesleyan handed Milligan its first conference loss of the season, 13-2 in seven innings on Friday afternoon.

Milligan falls to 16-6 on the year and 6-1 in league play. The Bulldogs move to 18-1, 7-0 AAC. The game was scheduled to be nine innings, but the game ended after the visitor's half of the seventh due to the AAC's 10-run rule.

After a scoreless first inning, Branden Spano led off the top of the second with his fifth home run of the season to give the Buffs a 1-0 lead.

Milligan's advantage was short-lived as TWU responded with seven runs at the bottom of the inning. The Bulldogs took advantage of four walks and smacked four hits, including a two-run triple with two outs to give the hosts a 7-1 advantage.

The Buffs added a run in the fourth as Justin Greene and Spano notched back-to-back doubles to make it a 7-2 ballgame.

TWU tacked on two more runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to extend its lead to 12-2.

Andrew Mathias and Anthony Guzman notched base hits in the sixth, but the Buffs were not able to brin the pair home.

The Bulldogs recorded their second home run of the day in the sixth to lead 13-2. Milligan went down in order in the seventh as TWU collected the 13-2 victory.

Spano went 2-3 with a home run, double, two RBI and a run scored. Greene doubled and scored.

The Buffs wrap up their three-game AAC series with a doubleheader at TWU starting at 12:00 p.m.