Baseball rises to second in AAC standings with doubleheader sweep at Johnson (Tenn.)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (April 10, 2022) – The Milligan University baseball team returned to Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play for the first time in over two weeks and posted a doubleheader sweep of Johnson (Tenn.) on Sunday afternoon. The Buffs defeated the Royals 6-4 in game one and earned a 10-1 triumph in game two (seven innings).

The pair of victories secured Milligan's sixth conference series win in seven tries this season and pushed the Buffs to 29-13 on the season and into lone possession of second place in the AAC standings with a 15-5 league record. Johnson falls 12-29, 2-21 AAC.

Game 1 – Milligan 6, Johnson 4

Milligan jumped out to a 6-0 as starting pitcher Andrei Beal posted six shutout innings and the Buffs scored in the second, fourth and fifth innings.

A 5-4-3 double play get out of a two on with one out situation for Beal in the first. Milligan scored a pair of runs in the top of the second on a strikeout and passed ball and then Justin Greene brought home Andrew Mathias with an RBI single.

The Buffs' lead moved to 3-0 in the top of the fourth when pinch runner Gaven Jones scored on a passed ball.

Josh Lail belted a two-run homer and Mathias knocked in a run with a base hit in the fifth to extend Milligan's advantage to 6-0 in the fifth.

A pair of errors led to two unearned runs for the royals in the seventh and a two-run double by the hosts in the eight made it a 6-4 ballgame.

Brock Browning retired the Royals in order in the ninth to collect the three-inning save.

Greene had three hits in the game. Roberrt Salcedo and Mathias each had two hits and scored a run apiece.

Beal earned his ninth win of the season as he struck out eight and allowed just one hit in six scoreless innings.

Game 2 – Milligan 10, Johnson 1

Game two saw the Buffs explode for double digit runs for the first time in the month of April. Greene was a double shy of the cycle as he drove in five runs with an RBI triple in the third and a grand slam in the fifth.

Designated hitter Logan Hullette and Salcedo scored three runs apiece. Eric Rigsby posted a multi-hit day, including an RBI double to open the scoring in the second inning.

Brandon Marello surrendered just one run in five innings of work with four strikeouts to notch his fifth win. Creed Werker worked a pair of scoreless innings to close out the seven-inning contest.

Milligan finishes its three-game AAC series with Johnson in Knoxville tomorrow.