Forgety continues dominance, Buffs sweep Carolina
Erin Forgety threw a one-hit shutout in game one, Neelee Griffith hit two home runs in game two, and the Milligan University softball team made Wednesday wonderful with a sweep of Carolina University. The Buffs won game one 3-0 and game two 9-1, enforcing the run rule in the sixth inning.
MILLIGAN, Tenn. (April 7, 2021) – Erin Forgety threw a one-hit shutout in game one, Neelee Griffith hit two home runs in game two, and the Milligan University softball team made Wednesday wonderful with a sweep of Carolina University. The Buffs won game one 3-0 and game two 9-1, enforcing the run rule in the sixth inning.
The day featured the last nonconference games of the regular season for Milligan, which moved to 23-4 (15-3 AAC) with its fourth straight win. Forgety improved to 8-2 and lowered her earned run average to 1.73.
Game One | Milligan 3, Carolina 0
Forgety needed only 68 pitches as she faced only one over the minimum in her second straight gem. She struck out two, walked one, and the only hit she allowed came on a bloop single to shallow left field. After the hit, Forgety retired 16 of the next 17 hitters she faced.
Milligan led 2-0 by the time Carolina recorded its first hit. Griffith had the RBI's of both runs when she lined a two-out single to center field, scoring Grace Jones and April Alvarado. Griffith battled back from down 0-2 in the count to make it 3-2 on a 10-pitch at-bat.
Katie Cronin followed an inning later with an RBI single to left, scoring Kate Pendleton, also with two out.
Jones went 2-for-2, reaching all three times she came up, in the win. Cronin was 2-for-3.
Game Two | Milligan 9, Carolina 1
Cloee-Anna Merritt fired an equally effective start to help the Buffs win game two. She allowed only four hits and one unearned run while striking out five and walking none in her fifth complete game of the season.
Like Forgety, Merritt got run support early as Cronin singled home a run in the bottom of the first then came home to score on an error a few moments later. It remained a close game at 2-1 until the Buffs finally broke things open in the bottom half of the fifth.
Back-to-back triples from Cronin and Alvarado started the inning, then Griffith and Pendleton went deep with their sixth and second home runs of the season, respectively. The final inning featured an Alvarado walk and another Griffith two-run shot which ended the game.
Four Buffs tallied multiple hits in the win. Jones went 2-for-4, Cronin 2-for-4, Alvarado 2-for-2 and Griffith 2-for-4. Cronin, Alvarado and Griffith both scored twice while Griffith drove in four.
Up next
Milligan welcomes St. Andrews in a return to Appalachian Athletic Conference play Sunday for a 3 p.m. doubleheader back here on Anglin Field. The Buffs have eight remaining games, all at home and all in AAC competition.
Highlights