Milligan College Buffaloes

Milligan College, Tenn. (April 26, 2008) --- The Milligan College men's baseball team split with the no. 14 Bulldogs of Union College Saturday in their final series of regular season AAC play. The Buffs won the first game handily by a final of 10-4 on senior day, but lost the nightcap 6-3.

The opening game of the series was a slow start for both teams as they were scoreless through the first three innings. In the fourth inning both teams got their offense started as the Buffs and the Bulldogs brought a runner across the plate. Union brought home three runs in the top of the fifth, but the Buffs doubled the Bulldogs effort by bringing in six runs to end the inning. Three more Buffs crossed the plate, with one in the sixth and two in the eighth. Milligan had 10 runs on 12 hits, with no errors.

Sophomore Frank Newcomb (Knoxville, Tenn.) chalked up the win in the first game in five innings of work. With the win Newcomb improves to 5-1 on the year. Newcomb scattered five hits and gave up four runs in the effort, while he struck out five. Sophomore Todd Caldwell (Johnson City, Tenn.) pitched four perfect innings for the Buffs in relief. Caldwell gave up no hits, no walks, and struck out five batters. At the plate, junior Justin Motte (Johnson City, Tenn.) went 3-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Junior Brandon Murphy (Johnson City, Tenn.) also performed well at the plate as he went 2-4 with an RBI.

During the second game of the afternoon, the Buffs started out tough as they brought two runs across the plate in the first and one run in the second. The Buffs held the lead through the fourth inning, until Union brought in a run in the top of the fifth. The game remained tied until the top of the sixth when Union catcher Justin Hart hit a three-run home run. No more Buffs crossed the plate to make the final 6-3 Bulldogs. Milligan scored three runs off of 10 hits and made two errors in the game.

Senior Jon Stoudt (Marietta, Ga.) started on the hill for the Buffs and gave up two runs on two hits. The loss goes to Jason Trivett (Bristol, Tenn.) as he gave up two runs and two hits in one and one third innings of work. Leading the Buffs in the nightcap was Murphy as he went 3-4. Freshman Weston Pearson (Swanannoa, N.C.) went 1-3 with a run scored during the contest, while junior Brian Busby (Lexington, S.C.) went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Senior Wes Stamey (Canton, N.C.) scored a run for the Buffs in his last game in a Buffs uniform at Anglin Field.

The Buffs finish the regular season at 24-24 and 8-10 in the AAC. Milligan came in sixth in the AAC during the regular season. The Buffs start AAC tournament play Wednesday, April 30, at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, Tenn. Milligan will play the no. 3 seeded team to open up play. The tournament pairings will be released on Sunday, April 27, and can be found at http://aacsports.com .