Milligan College Buffaloes

Johnson City, Tenn. (Sept.16, 2007) --- The Milligan Lady Buffs were able to host again this year their annual Milligan Classic Softball Tournament at the Winged Deer Park in Johnson City. The Lady Buffs showed a strong performance by winning five out of their six games, even winning a commanding victory of 16-6 against Bluefield College of West Virginia.

Milligan 3 vs. Hiwassee 1

The Lady Buff's Sara Smith (Elizabethton, Tenn.) came back from a season off swinging for the fence with a game-opening triple. Smith and Mallory Tincher (Jacksonville, Fla.) both went 2-3 in the opening game. Sidney Burns (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) started her first college game with three strike outs and only allowing three hits in four innings of work. Kayla Walker (Tracy, Calif.) came in as relief pitcher and finished the last two innings with three strike outs and no hits. The only score for Hiwassee College came from a solo homerun from H. Broyles.

Milligan 16 vs. Bluefield 6

The Lady Buff's bats came alive in the second inning against Bluefield College gaining ten hits and 12 runs. Burns and Holly Napier (Pennington Gap, Va.) went 3-3 while Jessica Blevins ( Elizabethton, Tenn.), Lydia Sharpe (Gate City, Tenn.), and Tincher all went 2-3 on the game. Walker and Paige Martin (Gray, Tenn.) each took half of the game and recorded two strike outs each.

Milligan 3 vs. Virginia Intermont 1

Burns pitched an excellent game throwing 12 strike outs against conference rival Virginia Intermont College. It was a tight game but Milligan's bats and tough defense carried them through. Blevins and Smith went for strong 1.000 batting averages that game going 3-3 and 2-2 respectively.

Milligan 3 vs. Hiwassee 0

The Lady Buffs struggled early in the encounter but Walker 's excellent pitching forced the game into ten innings with a 0-0 tie. Walker recorded eight strike outs and five hits. Milligan collected 7 hits which finally put them above Hiwassee College in the tenth inning to win the game.

Milligan 8 vs. Roan State 3

The Lady Buffs battled for the win getting nine hits and allowing six hits for Roan State Community College. Martin and Burns combined for the win. Tincher lead the team batting going 2-3.

Milligan 5 vs. LMU 7

Milligan's last game of the tournament came as a tough loss to Lincoln Memorial University. Burns took the lose for Milligan throwing five strike outs and allowing five hits. The exhausted Lady Buffs played hard ball but were unable to overcome the two run deficit. Smith hit a solo homerun in the fourth inning to complete her total come back and went 2-3. Blevins and Burns also went 2-3 in the final game of the weekend.

"I was very pleased with the way the team played this weekend in our tournament. We had very solid hitting, the pitchers did and exceptional job, and it was a very good total team effort from all the players. If we can perform a little better on defense, I believe we will have a great team this year and I am very excited for this team.” said Head Coach Wes Holly concerning his team's performance this weekend.