Season Preview: 2024 Baseball

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (January 29, 2024) - The Milligan University Baseball team looks to continue its winning ways under fifth-year head coach Skyler Barnett in 2023.

Visual Preview

The Buffs open their season with a nonconference series against Rio Grande on Feb. 2-3 at Anglin Field.

2023 Season Review: Milligan Baseball posted a 28-22 season in 2023. The Buffs finished ninth in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) standings with a 12-17 conference record and four AAC series wins. Milligan qualified for the AAC Tournament and won its first game before fall in bracket play.

Milligan defeated national qualifier Cumberland twice, once when the Phoenix were receiving votes in the national poll and the second time when Cumberland was ranked No. 25 in the nation. The Buffs had four players earn all-conference honors, and Milligan posted its fourth consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1991.

"Last season was a special season for a multitude of reasons," said fifth-year head coach Skyler Barnett. "We had some great individual performances and the program itself took a step forward to establishing a winning culture. As a program we are proud of where we are at and how we got here, however there are still benchmarks that need to be reached to keep moving forward."

Despite a slew of injuries to the pitching staff, the Buffs ranked second in the AAC in earned run average (5.06) and walks and hits per innings pitched (1.46).

Then-senior catcher Logan Hullette became the first player in program history to earn Academic All-America honors from College Sports Communicators and collected All-AAC First Team honors.

2024 AAC Preseason Poll: The AAC sent four teams to the NAIA Championship Opening Round last spring. Bryan and Union earned automatic berths while Reinhardt and Tennessee Wesleyan secured at-large bids.

Team (1st-Place Votes) - Total Points
Tennessee Wesleyan - 156(12)
Reinhardt - 141
Bryan - 123
Montreat - 102
Milligan - 99
Truett-McConnell - 97
St. Andrews - 77
Union - 76
Columbia International - 65
Bluefield - 61
Pikeville - 49
Johnson - 24
Kentucky Christian - 22

Key Returners: Milligan returns five hitters with over 100 at-bats and one of its top three pitchers in terms of innings pitched from 2023.

"The returners from last season saw some success but are hungry for more," said Barnett. "We are an experienced and veteran group in general and that's what's most exciting about this season."

Senior Caleb Berry secured All-AAC Second Team honors as an outfielder last spring. Berry led Milligan in hits (64), runs batted in (47), home runs (10), and stolen bases (19) in his debut season as a Buff. He ranked top-15 in the AAC in hits, runs (47), doubles, RBI and total bases (108). He notched 20 multi-hit games, including both Milligan wins over Cumberland.

Caleb has done so much for this program in a short amount of time," said Barnett. "His work ethic is unmatched and he will continue to contribute in many facets to this clubs success."

Senior Braden Spano is a former All-AAC Second Team selection in 2022 and Milligan's career doubles leader (52). He hit i.297 with 18 doubles, five home runs and 73 RBI. Spano finished third in the AAC in doubles for the second-straight season. He had four hits and four RBI in Milligan's AAC Tournament win over St. Andrews.

"Braden has been a staple in our lineup ever since he stepped on campus," said Barnett. "His impact carries so much more than his accomplishments on the field. I'm excited for another year having Braden lead his team."

Junior outfielder Angel Lobo returns after spending the 2023 season as Milligan's everyday left fielder. He finished third on the roster in at-bats behind Berry and Spano and hit .286 with three home runs and 28 RBI. Lobo lead the team with 22 walks and stole nine bases.

Graduate Andrew Mathias is a two-year starter at shortstop and junior Sutton appeared in 39 games, primarily at third base, in 2023. Mathais' offensive production increased across the board as he hit .294 with five home runs and 26 RBI. Sutton hit .262 with one home run and 22 RBI. Mathias scored 29 runs while Sutton scored 25 times.

Graduate outfielder Ryan Molinari had 11 hits and 10 RBI in 41 at-bats last spring.

Juniors Josh Lail and Ty Yurkovich appeared in 14 and 13 games, respectively in 2023.

Junior Creed Werker led the Buffs with 63.2 innings pitched across 21 appearances last season. He posted 4-2 record with two saves and had a 4.24 ERA. Werker had 11 scoreless appearances and struck out 49 batters on the year.

"Creed has turned into a pitcher that a lot of hitters in the league do not want to face," said Barnett. "He has been called upon in many leverage situations which has seasoned him well. He will continue to be a big impact on this pitching staff."

Senior pitchers Joe Ducharme and Austin Maxey rank second and third among returning pitchers in innings pitcher. Ducharme emerged as Milligan's midweek starter and had a 5-2 record and a 5.08 ERA in 44.1 innings. He tossed eight innings and allowed two runs in Milligan's win at Cumberland. Maxey allowed 26 earned runs in 37.1 innings and recorded two saves. In 11 relief appearances, Maxey had four scoreless outings. He ranked second among qualifying pitchers with a 10.85 strikeouts per nine rate as he notched 45 strikeouts on the season.

Senior Vince LaConte allowed 24 earned runs in 35.1 innings across 13 appearances. He notched one save and struck out 34. Sophomore Canyon Geren was the winning pitcher in Milligan's 7-2 win over No. 25 Cumberland and struck out 19 in 17.2 innings.

Milligan's staff looks to be bolstered by the return of junior Andrei Beal, sophomore Gaven Jones and graduate Vicente Mendoza from injury. Beal set Milligan's single-season strikeout record (115) and was an All-AAC Second Team selection in 2022. He led the Buffs with eight wins and posted a 3.43 ERA two seasons ago. Jones recorded a 7-2 record and had a 3.14 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 63.0 innings in 2022. Mendoza only made one appearance on the mound last spring before having his season cut short due to injury.

"The veteran arms sprinkled in with a few newcomers are what's exciting the most about this pitching staff," said Barnett. "There is an abundance of talent and guys with experience which makes for a great recipe for success."

Newcomers: Milligan Baseball has added a slew of new faces to the roster in 2024 in the form of freshmen, transfers, and graduate transfers. The Buffs added 14 freshmen, seven undergraduate transfers, and two graduate transfers for a total of 23 newcomers for spring 2024.

Looking at the Schedule: The AAC regular season is a 30-game schedule with three-game series against 10 of the other 12 AAC teams. The three-game series will include two nine-inning games and one seven-inning contest. AAC play for the Buffs begins Feb. 23 at Kentucky Christian.

Milligan's season begins on the newly-renovated turf of Anglin Field with a four-game series against Rio Grande on Feb. 2-3. The Buffs' nonconference schedule is highlighted midweek home-and-home matchups with national qualifiers Cumberlands and Cumberland. The Buffs also travel to Middle Georgia State and host Indiana Tech in February.

Milligan will not compete against Johnson and Union in league play. However, Buffs will see Johnson in a pair of nonconference midweek games on Feb. 20 and March 19.

Milligan opens the season with seven of its first 10 games scheduled at home. In March, the Buffs have 10 home contests, including AAC series against Reinhardt, Pikeville and Tennessee Wesleyan at Anglin Field.

The 10-team AAC Tournament will be played at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport on April 30-May 4. The two teams that reach the AAC championship game will receive automatic bids to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

"This schedule as always will be challenging," said Barnett. "I firmly believe that we play in one of the toughest conferences in the nation and we have the opportunity to be tested early with some annually ranked opponents. This schedule will be competitive and make for some exciting baseball."

Last Word: "The outlook is high for this club this year," said Barnett. "I'm excited to see these guys compete and I know that our guys are as well. Go Buffs!"