Softball wins sixth straight behind Forgety, Merritt gems
Stellar pitching once again led the Milligan University softball team to two more wins Sunday on Anglin Field, as the Buffaloes celebrated senior day with 2-1 and 5-0 wins over St. Andrews. Erin Forgety struck out nine while scattering only six hits in game one before Cloee-Anna Merritt tossed a complete-game shutout with a career-high 12 strikeouts in game two.
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Andrews
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
|
Milligan
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Andrews
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
|
Milligan
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
MILLIGAN, Tenn. (April 11, 2021) – Stellar pitching once again led the Milligan University softball team to two more wins Sunday on Anglin Field, as the Buffaloes celebrated senior day with 2-1 and 5-0 wins over St. Andrews. Erin Forgety struck out nine while scattering only six hits in game one before Cloee-Anna Merritt tossed a complete-game shutout with a career-high 12 strikeouts in game two.
The wins moved Milligan to 24-4 (17-3 Appalachian Athletic Conference) with the Buffaloes picking up their sixth straight win. They are now even with No. 15 Truett McConnell atop the AAC.
Game One | Milligan 2, St. Andrews 1
Forgety threw a complete game and only needed 96 pitches to improve to 9-2 on the season. It was her second complete game of the season and came alongside nine strikeouts, no walks and six hits. Her only blemish happened in the top of the fifth following a two-out error that allowed St. Andrews' only run of the day to score.
By then, Milligan already led 2-0 as Katie Cronin singled in a run in the bottom of the third, and April Alvarado followed in the next at-bat with a squeeze bunt to score another.
Cronin finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI while Lainey Mays went 3-for-3 with a stolen base and a run.
Game Two | Milligan 5, St. Andrews 0
Merritt did all the same great things Forgety did, and then some. Merritt allowed only three hits and one walk, a total of only four runners left on base, and struck out a career-high 12. She set down St. Andrews in order in four of seven frames and threw only 90 pitches.
Neelee Griffith got the scoring going in the third, drawing a bases-loaded walk with two out after getting behind in the count 1-2. It made it 1-0 and Mays followed two innings later with a two-run homer to open up the scoring. Savannah Nocera drove in another run to make it 4-0 in the sixth, and Cronin followed with a double steal with Nocera to round out the scoring at 5-0.
Lindsey Slagle (2-for-3) and Mays (2-for-4) led the Buffs at the plate with multiple hits.
Up next
Milligan comes home again Wednesday and Saturday for doubleheaders against Tennessee Wesleyan and No. 15 Truett McConnell.