Buffaloes Softball Shows Resilience in Doubleheader Split at Johnson

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Milligan University's softball squad was in for a challenging day on the diamond against the Appalachian Athletic Conference's (AAC) leader in the standings in Johnson University on Wednesday afternoon. Following a run-rule loss in game one, the Buffaloes bounced back with a 6-5 win to hand the Royals their first conference loss of the campaign.

Simply put, game one was not favorable for the Buffs, as they had six runs put up against them over the course of the first two innings. Johnson scored twice in the first on two RBI singles and then put up four in the second, with a two-run double, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch making up the scoring plays.

Milligan had just a single hit in the game, which was a double off the bat of Alexis Brown in the second inning, but that would be far from enough in the opening game of the day. 

Two more runs would be scored in the fourth and fifth inning by the Royals, as they pulled off the 8-0 win in five innings over Milligan.

Game two started much more slowly, as neither team scored a run until the bottom of the third, when JU had an RBI groundout to take a 1-0 lead.

Quickly, Milligan responded by matching that tally with a run-scoring single by Mollie Johnson to drive home Jordan Roulettwheeler. Johnson would then lift a grand slam homer in the bottom of the fourth to erase any MU momentum, as they led the Buffs 5-1.

After a scoreless fifth inning, the Buffs began to rally. Milligan grabbed three runs in the top of the sixth, with the first two coming off the bat of Haley Vigil. She doubled to bring home both Alana Parsons and Roulettwheeler. Ashley Worley then singled to score Vigil, making it 5-4 for the hosts.

After holding Johnson to nothing again in the top of the sixth, Milligan received a RBI double from Parsons with two outs to tie the game at 5-5, as Mia Grasse came across to score that tying tally all the way from first base. The clutch hitting would continue, as Jaylyn Halliburton was called upon in a pinch-hit role with Parsons at second and two outs on the board. Halliburton delivered, whacking an RBI single to chase in Parsons, giving MU a 6-5 lead with three outs left to obtain.

That is exactly what ended up happening, as the Buffaloes retired the Royals in order to hand them their first AAC loss of the 2025 season.

Milligan's offense was sparked by the 4-for-4 effort of Parsons in game two, while Roulettwheeler, Mo. Johnson and Grasse also added a pair of hits apiece. Worley, Vigil and Halliburton had just one hit each, but they were all hugely important in the triumphant result for the squad.

Katelin Secrist did not have a great outing in the circle in the first game, allowing two runs on four hits in 0.1 innings pitched. Bree Presnell allowed four runs in 1.2 innings, and Faith Caldwell gave up two in two frames.

Sadie Shoun tossed a complete game in the latter contest, as she allowed five runs on 12 hits in the battle, but was able to get the big outs when the Buffaloes needed them most.

A great bit of resolve was shown by Milligan on Wednesday, as they returned from being run-ruled to notch a huge win against the conference leader. The Buffs now sit at 8-10 in conference play and 14-12 overall. They will return home this weekend to play the Rams of Columbia International University on Saturday, Mar. 29 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.