Milligan College Buffaloes

Johnson City, Tenn. (April 13, 2008) --- The Milligan College softball team made history this afternoon when they took the field as the first NAIA team to play team USA.

Johnson City, Mayor David Roe pitched the game's honorary pitch to get things started. The Lady Buffs knew it would be a tough challenge and learning experience for them as a team, and despite the score, 0-24, the Lady Buffs played well.

The Lady Buffs and Team USA played only five innings due to the weather. It was a rough start for the Lady Buffs, as Team USA got three up and three down against the Lady Buffs. Alicia Hollowell took the mound for Team USA and pitched a complete game.

Starting on the mound for the Lady Buffs was freshman Sydney Burns (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Burns pitched the first three innings allowing 13 runs on 13 hits. Sophomore Ryann Musick (Elizabethton, Tenn.) came into the game at the start of the fourth inning to take her shot at Team USA . Musick pitched two innings and allowed 11 runs on eight hits.

“I think our pitchers could have done better, but we played several games this past week and it just wore them out,” commented Head Coach Wes Holly. “I felt like they did well though and pitched some great balls, but when you play a team of this caliber it's hard to strike them out.”

The Lady Buffs had one base runner, Ellyn Sapp (Johnson City, Tenn.). Sapp showed no fear when on base, as she stole second and slid in safe, ahead of the tag. She also made several key plays in the game. She had a great scoop and throw to second to get the leading runner out in the second inning. Laken Stewart (Pennington Gap, Va.) also showed great reaction time, when she had two great plays in the third inning to retire two players.

“It was a lot of fun to play them (USA) and I feel like it was a great learning experience for all of us,” stated Hannah Cunningham (Waterford, Ohio).

“I am thankful for the opportunity to play Team USA and this exposure will do well for our program here at Milligan College,” said Holly. “The girls had a lot of fun and it was a great for our team to play a team of this caliber. We defiantly will be able to take things from this game and work on, but the unique thing about all of this, will be the memories that we take from this game.”

After the game Team USA made remarks about what it was like playing Milligan College and what it was like to be here in Tennessee.

“Playing teams like Milligan and other colleges is helping us prepare for the Olympics tremendously, because it is allowing us to get several innings in on the field and at the plate,” commented Jennie Finch.

“Tennessee feels like my home away from home and the people here are so polite and encouraging,” stated Monica Abbott. “I understand how these girls (Milligan College) felt today because I was in their shoes last year as I played college ball, but I also see how it felt for my team. The best way to prepare for the Olympics is to play college teams, such as Milligan College.”

Team USA Head Coach Mike Candrea said, "It is a great opportunity for our girls to travel and get to play at a high level and prepare for the Olympics. Milligan College gave us that opportunity today and challenged our team to play through the weather. Today's game was a game played at a high level and allowed us to see how we need to improve.”

Once again this afternoon's game between Milligan College and Team USA was one for the history books. The crowd of 3,476 today was the second largest crowd so far that Team USA has had at one of their games on their trip to Beijing.

The Lady Buffs get back into college action April 14, at 2 p.m., when they face Brevard College. The game will be played at the Anglin softball field on the Milligan College campus.