Buffs split doubleheader with Point

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (April 15, 2022) – The Milligan University baseball team split a pair of games with Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Point University on Friday afternoon. The Buffs fell short in game one 8-4 but bounced back to win game two 4-2.

Milligan now sits at 31-15 (17-6 AAC) on the season while Point climbs to 20-18 (15-8 AAC).

Game 1 — Point 8, Milligan 4

The Buffs darted out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After Brandon Marello led the game off with a single to right field, Anthony Guzman drew a base on balls before back-to-back doubles from Justin Greene and Braden Spano led to both runs crossing the plate for Milligan.  

In the home half of the first inning, Point got one run back after a two-out single scored the Skyhawks baserunner from second base.

Milligan added a run in the top of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. After reaching on an error to start the inning, Eric Rigsby advanced to second on a passed ball, stole third base and later scored on a single into left field from Robert Salcedo.

Point avenged the Buffs run in top half with one of their own in the bottom of the fourth. After the leadoff hitter reached base via error, a passed ball moved him into scoring position before a sacrifice bunt followed by a sacrifice fly led to the run crossing the plate.

The Skyhawks took a one run lead in the bottom of the fifth. Three hits and a walk in the inning led to two runs for Point. In the bottom half of the six, they scored two more runs to increase their lead to three runs 6-3.

In the bottom of the seventh, Point pushed across one more run to increase their lead to four. A single to center field followed by a triple to right center led to the run crossing the plate.

Two errors and a double steal gave the Buffs two baserunners in scoring position with one out in the top of the eighth. A ground ball to third base scored the runner from third as Milligan trimmed the lead back down to three. The Skyhawks answered with a run in the bottom half as they came away with the 8-4 victory.

Greene finished game one going two-for-three and a run scored. Spano lead the Buffs in the RBI category with a team-high two in addition to a hit. Andrew Mathias and Salcedo also picked up RBIs in the contest.

The Buffs pitching staff threw a combined eight innings while surrendering 12 hits and striking out ten.

Game 2— Milligan 4, Point 2 (8 Innings)

The Buffs got on the scoreboard first in game two with four runs in the top of the second. Josh Lail ripped a one-out double to left field followed by back-to-back walks to load the bases. Marello, in the next at-bat, crushed a grand slam home run to score Lail, Salcedo, and Logan Estep as Milligan took an early 4-0 lead.

The Skyhawks homered in the bottom half of the second to get one run back. Marello, otherwise, was fantastic on the mound as he used a fly out to left field, pop out to shortstop and pop out to first base to end the inning.