(RV) Baseball Splits Friday Doubleheader at Montreat

MARION, N.C. (April 19, 2024) - On Friday, the (RV) Milligan University baseball team began their three-game Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) set against the Cavaliers of Montreat College (N.C.) at Big League Camp in Marion, N.C. The day ended in a split, as the Buffaloes fell by a one-run margin in game one, but followed that up with a dominant game-two triumph.

The first bout of the twin-bill was a pitchers' duel, featuring a combined five runs scored. It ended in a 3-2 Milligan loss. The Buffs offense broke out of their slumber in the second battle, pushing across 10 runs in a 10-2 victory.

Milligan stands at 28-16 overall with a 16-10 record in the AAC after the 1-1 day.

The rubber match of the series will be played tomorrow at noon back on the Montreat campus.

Game 1 - Montreat 3, Milligan 2

After no scoring for the first, Milligan was held scoreless in the top of the second. Montreat pushed across the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead.

There was nothing but more zeros until the bottom of the fourth when the Cavaliers grabbed another run. With runners at the corners, the first base runner found himself in a rundown and was able to stay in it long enough to allow the runner from third to score. The 2-0 lead for Montreat would last until the top of the sixth.

The Buffaloes' offense finally broke through in the top of the sixth, scoring a pair of runs on a blast over the left-center field fence by Jose Paula. Caleb Berry came in to score on the round-tripper, tying the score at 2-2.

No runs were scored until the bottom of the eighth when the Cavaliers scored what would ultimately be the game-winning run on another sacrifice fly.

Milligan could not produce anything in the top of the ninth, as they fell by the 3-2 final to begin the series.

Game 2 - Milligan 10, Montreat 2

In the second tilt, Milligan wasted very little time getting their offense going, as they drove home six runs in the top of the second inning. Jack Sutton would open the scoring by delivering a sac fly to score Vasili Kaloudis, and then Andrew Mathias singled home Gaven Jones for the squad's second run. Then, Roangeraud Fraai would come in to score on a double by Angel Lobo, and Berry would supply an RBI groundout to score Mathias. Finally, Kaloudis would double to score Paula and finish off a six-run stanza.

Montreat would respond in the bottom of the second with a two-run double but would continue to trail, 6-2.

The remainder of the Buffs' scoring came in the top of the third, when Lobo unloaded on a three-run blast to left, scoring both Mathias and Sutton. Later in the inning, Braden Spano brought home Berry on a single through the left side to make it 10-2, where the score would stay through the rest of the seven-inning affair.

Ian Weil helped bolster the Buffs' chances from the mound, notching his season-best 10 strikeouts, while allowing only four hits and a pair of earned runs.

The Milligan lineup was impressive, as eight of the nine starters had at least one base hit in the contest. In addition, seven of the nine starters tallied a run-batted-in or more.