King beats Milligan, 8-2, to highlight
first day of AAC Tournament
Ron Bliss
TriCitiesSports.com Editor
KINGSPORT -- King College got four hits -- including a triple -- two
runs scored and two RBI from All-Conference player Joe Craven and a
route-going pitching performance from Jace Smith on Wednesday as the No.
6 seed Tornados upset No. 3 seed Milligan, 8-2, at Hunter Wright Stadium
to highlight the first round of action in the Appalachian Athletic
Conference baseball tournament.
In other games, No. 1 seed Tennessee Wesleyan used four home runs --
including a three-run walkoff home run by Daniel Lynn -- to blast No. 8
seed Bryan College, 15-4 in seven innings; No. 2 seed Montreat rallied
for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to overcome No. 7 seed
Bluefield, 10-9, and No. 5 seed Union edged No. 4 seed Uva.-Wise, 4-3.
That advances the winners to the next round and puts the losers in a
"win-or-go-home" situation on Thursday in the double-elimination
tournament.
Play begins at 9 a.m., Thursday at two sites -- King College in Bristol,
where elimination games will be played at 9 a.m., and 12:30 p.m., and at
Hunter Wright Stadium, where winners' bracket play will begin at 9 a.m.,
when King (31-16) takes on Montreat (27-19). Tennessee Wesleyan (40-12)
plays Union (29-13-1) at 12:30 p.m.
In the elimination games at King, Milligan (24-24) takes on Bluefield
(22-20) at 9 a.m., with Bryan (23-27) and Uva.-Wise (28-14-1) set to
meet at 12:30 p.m.
The tournament is sponsored by Americourt Hotel of Kingsport.
"Craven is an all-conference player and he's something like No. 2 in the
nation in triples,'' said King coach Mark Conkin of Craven, who actually
took over the national lead in triples with his 12th of the season in
the eighth inning. "He does a good job in the outfield and his bat was
also very good today.''
Craven had three singles, walked once, scored twice and knocked home two
runs as King reached Milligan ace Nathan Fritz (8-5) for 11 hits and six
runs -- three of them earned -- in the six innings he worked. Fritz came
into the game with a 1.03 ERA, the best in the national among NAIA
players.
Smith, who improved to 7-4, did the rest. He scattered 11 hits while
going the distance. Smith was fourth nationally in ERA coming in with a
1.31 ERA. He allowed on earned run in the game.
"We had beaten him earlier in the season,'' said Milligan coach Nathan
Meade. "But he's a tremendous pitcher.''
"Jace has been a tremendous asset for us,'' said Conkin. "He came here
in mid-winter and he's just been outstanding.''
Conkin feels good about his team's chances.
"We've been through the entire league. There are some good teams, but
we're competitive with them,'' said Conkin. "To win this tournament,
you're going to have to beat somebody.''
Conkin said, with the complete game, his pitching staff is in good
shape. He still has All-AAC pitcher Brandon Wallace in reserve. Meade is
not pushing the panic button, though his team will need to fight its way
back.
"We're going to be all right,'' said Meade, "though it is disappointing
to come out flat like we did today. Something you always talk about is
being consistent. We've got Brett Seybert going for us tomorrow. We'll
just have to bounce back.''
Brandon Murphy had two hits, including a double, to lead Milligan.
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