Baseball wins AAC opener at CIU 8-3

COLUMBIA, S.C. (February 17, 2023) – The Milligan University baseball team opened Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play with an 8-3 victory at Columbia International on Friday evening.

The Buffs rise to 9-2 on the young season and 1-0 in AAC action. CIU falls to 1-4, 0-1 AAC.

Jimmy Gamboa made his first start on the mound for the Buffs and tossed six innings of one-run ball.
Brandon Marello led the of the game with a single, stole second and scored on a base hit off the bat of Angel Lobo in the top of the first inning. The Rams put a runner on third with nobody out in the bottom of the first but Gamboa kept the Rams off the scoreboard with a flyout, popout and grounder to first.

Milligan took a 2-0 edge in the top of the third when Anthony Guzman doubled in Braden Spano with two outs.

The Rams looked poised to have a big inning in the bottom of the fourth as a double, error and single made it a 2-1 ballgame and put runners on the corners with nobody out. Gamboa struck out three-straight batters to strand the runner and maintain the Buffs' lead.

Milligan's advantage grew to 4-1 with a pair of the top of the sixth. Caleb Berry doubled in pinch runner Gage Huffman and Casey Haire scored on a passed ball. The Rams had runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the frame before Gamboa ended the inning with a strikeout.

Jack Sutton singled in Berry in the eighth and scored on an error to push the Buffs' edge to 6-1. The Rams pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to bring the margin to 6-3 going into the ninth.

Spano and Lobo both singled in the ninth and scored on the same passed ball to extend Milligan's lead to 8-3. Creed Werker posted a scoreless ninth inning and the Buffs came away with a victory in their first conference game.

Lobo and Spano had three hits apiece. Berry and Sutton both scored and drove in a run.

Gamboa moved to 2-0 on the season as he struck out six and allowed one run in six innings of work. Werker picked up his first save of the season.

Milligan and CIU conclude their three-game series tomorrow with one nine-inning game and a seven-inning contest, starting at 12:00 p.m.