(RV) Milligan Baseball Walks Off in Game One, Drops Finale against Georgetown

MILLIGAN, Tenn. – The Milligan University baseball squad continued their four-game series on Sunday against the Georgetown College Tigers. After earning a walkoff win in game one of the day, the Buffs dropped the second game to finish the set against Georgetown with a 3-1 win-loss record.

In game one, Milligan began with a strong first inning, in which they scored two runs. They had runners at first (Miller Spence) and third (Gaven Jones) and pulled off a double steal to bring in the first run. Then, Nick Iezzi notched an RBI single to score Spence to make it 2-0 after one.

In the bottom of the second, Milligan picked up another run on a fielding error by the first baseman, allowing Skyler Saunders to score and make it 3-0 Buffs.

Georgetown battled right back into the game, taking the lead in the top of the third on a two-run double, an RBI triple and a wild pitch to make it 4-3.

The Buffs would tie it up in the bottom of the fourth, as Braxton Baird smacked a solo bomb to right-center field, tying the score at 4-4.

In the back-and-forth affair, the Tigers added two runs in the top of the fifth on a sac fly and a fielding error by Milligan, making it 6-4 as the game headed to the bottom of the fifth.

Josh Lail had an RBI walk with the bases loaded to bring in Angel Lobo, while Baird added one of his own to force in Jones. Then, after tying the score, a wild pitch allowed Iezzi to score. That was followed by an infield single from Saunders to bring home Lail, which made it 8-6 after five full frames.

Georgetown regained the lead in the top of the sixth, scoring a two-run double and a RBI base knock in the top of the sixth, making it 9-8.

Lail would have a massive next at-bat, as he lifted a three-run homer to right field to bring home Iezzi and Spence, giving the Buffaloes an 11-9 lead.

That would not last, however, as Georgetown scored four times on a RBI single and a three-run homer to take a 13-11 lead.

In the last of the seventh, Milligan landed the final blow, as Cade Kalehuawehe delivered a three-run walkoff homerun to centerfield to bring in both Jones and Lobo, giving the Buffs a 14-13 win in the opening tilt.

Things began quickly again for the Buffaloes in the second game, as they scored the first four runs of the contest over the first two innings. Lobo smacked a leadoff solo homer in the first; while Baird hit his second homer of the day, a two-run shot, later in the inning. In the second, an RBI groundout by Trey Massengill scored Spence to make it 4-0.

Georgetown scored a single run on a sac fly in the top of the third, but that was erased in the bottom half by an Iezzi solo bomb to right field, making it 5-1 Buffs after three.

That is when all the Tigers' bats caught fire, as eight total runs on an RBI single, three-run double, another RBI single and a three-run round-tripper suddenly made it 9-5 in favor of the visitors.

Milligan added a single run in the bottom of the fourth on a base hit off the bat of Jones to score Massengill, making it 9-6.

A solo homer by Lail in the bottom of the seventh made the score 9-7, but Milligan was unable to get any closer, finishing the tilt with a two-run defeat.

Milligan had several strong offensive performances, with Kalehuawehe (3-for-5, HR, 3 RBI, BB, R), Baird (4-for-7, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB, 2 R), Lobo (3-for-7, HR, RBI, 2 BB, 3 R), Saunders (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R), Iezzi (2-for-6, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 R) and Lail (2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 R) each had two or more hits.

It was not a banner day for Milligan pitching, as Brady Thomas earned the win after notching just a third of an inning in the top of the seventh inning to lead the Buffs to their eventual walkoff in game one. Austin Maxey started the game and allowed four runs on four hits with six strikeouts across 3.2 innings of work. Patrick Collins allowed two runs (one earned) in one inning, while Kaden Wise got two outs and allowed three runs on two hits. Josh Carrico hurled 1.1 innings and allowed four runs on three hits with a trio of punchouts.

After three good innings from Joe Ducharme, Georgetown teed off in the fourth, as his final line was eight hits and seven runs allowed in 3.2 innings with a pair of punchouts. Kaleb Meredith did not fare well, allowing two runs in a third of an inning. Brycen Denton was able to toss two clean innings with one stirkeout and T.J. Kuhn threw one scoreless frame with a pair of punchouts.

Milligan will now take part in the Clash of Conferences tornament on Feb. 7-8 at Anglin Field, as they attempt to grab four more wins on their challenging early-season slate. The Buffs will play the WVU Tech Golden Bears on Friday at 11 a.m., and the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan at 5 p.m.