Lady Buffs prepare for tournament

Johnson City Press
by Jeff Birchfield

After a sweep of Covenant this past Friday, the Milligan softball team won the AAC title outright with a league record of 14-2 and a 31-16 overall record.

“They wanted to win it and have worked hard all year long,” said Lady Buffs head coach Wes Holly. “I'm tickled to death for them. We're a young ballclub, but the girls stepped up this year.

“Our pitching staff carried a big load. Sydney (Burns) did a good job, Kayla (Walker) got over her injuries and Ryann (Musick) has done a great job. What has made us better this year are hitting the ball and getting runs when we need to. Besides the clutch base-hitting, our defense has been solid all year. It's been a great year and a fun year for me to coach.”

It marked Holly's fifth conference title in 20 years at Milligan. His teams won AAC tournaments both in 2002 and 2004.

Burns has been the workhorse for the Lady Buffs with a 21-8 record, while Musick leads the team with five saves.

Offensively, former Happy Valley star Jessica Blevins leads the team a second straight year in hitting with a .385 average. She also has team-highs with seven home runs and 22 walks. She ranks second in three other categories with 11 doubles, 29 RBI and 31 runs scored.

It was expected for Blevins to have a big season. Others producing big numbers have put Milligan over the top according to Holly.

“Over the past two or three years, we've relied on some key players like Megan (Aldridge) and Jessica and they've came through,” Holly said. “But, we've needed to get contributions in other areas to become a championship club. We got those this year.”

Some of those contributions have come from Sarah Smith and Leah White.

Smith, the former Elizabethton standout, leads the team with four triples, 32 runs scored and 35 stolen bases. White, the ex-Daniel Boone star, has team bests with 17 doubles and 32 RBI.

Holly knew this team had a chance to be special when they scored two wins over NCAA Division 2 opponent Mount Olive at a Savannah spring break tournament. Making the feat more impressive, the team was short-handed with both Smith and Laken Stewart back home doing clinical studies for their majors.

He sees UVa.-Wise, which split 3-2 games with the Lady Buffs this season, as the toughest matchup in the tournament to be held at Bristol's White Top Park. Milligan opens today at 1 p.m. against the winner of an early morning contest between Montreat and Bluefield.

“We like our chances going in,” Holly said. “The girls are feeling good about themselves and we're playing solid ball right now. It's been like a puzzle and has come together pretty well. If we can maintain our consistency, we should do very well in the conference tournament.”