Milligan College SPORTS NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Kevin Brinn, (423) 461-8980
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Milligan captures game two en route to two-game sweep
By TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier

How could Milligan College's 9-4 win over King College in game two of Friday afternoon's Appalachian Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader best be described?

Well Dunn.

Milligan right fielder Ryan Dunn collected a hit, scored a run and also made a key defensive play as Milligan captured game two of the doubleheader en route to completing a two-game sweep.

The Buffaloes (6-3, 17-11) won game one, 5-4, thanks to the pitching of senior right-hander Matt Simmons.Dunn's RBI single in the second inning fueled a four-run inning by the Buffaloes in game two.

While King cut the lead to one in the fifth, Milligan's offense proved to be too much.

Dunn, a former star at Virginia High, began the season marred in a brutal slump, but that hasn't been the case in recent weeks. Dunn has helped the Buffaloes win four straight and his early season struggles are just a distant memory.

"It was a mental thing," Dunn said of his early season woes. "I had somebody tell me that 90 percent of the game is mental. I've just been going up the plate, knowing that I am going to hit the ball and it's helped. This is a big win for our team. A few days ago we went in and had a talk. We set down and got everything straight. Everybody takes a positive attitude to the field and that's why we've been winning games."

Dunn's hot hitting has also added a new dimension to Milligan's already strong lineup.

"Ryan's been swinging the bat," Milligan coach Danny Clark said. "The last two weeks, he's probably been one of our hottest hitters. He's been swinging the bat really well. The big thing for our guys is just getting in the groove."

It was Dunn's defense that may have been the key for Milligan on Friday.After an RBI single by King's Andrew Belcher cut Milligan's lead to 5-3 and chased Buffalo starter Dustin Barrett from the game, Milligan reliever Jacob McAllister walked King catcher John Patterson to load the bases with one out.McAllister induced King designated hitter Chris Martin to fly out to Dunn in right field. Dunn hauled in the catch for the second out and rifled a throw to Buffalo catcher Nathan Chandler.

While King's David Ott, who was tagging up after Martin's flyout, slid safely under Chandler's tag to bring King within 5-4, Chandler alertly threw to shortstop Nathan Meade, who tagged pinch-runner Aaron Porter out at second for the third out."I always get pumped up when I get a chance to throw the ball toward the plate," Dunn said. "I threw a strike to Chandler and then he threw a bullet down to second.

That really pumped us up and we turned around and scored a few runs."Milligan scored three runs in the top of the sixth to secure the victory.

Barrett, a Tazewell High School product, notched the win, while McAllister pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to collect the save.

"(McAllister) got a win (Thursday against Hilbert College) and came back in relief today," Clark said. "He's been throwing the ball better as of late. I was happy for Jake, because he is from Bristol."

Chandler, Meade, Ben Whittemore and Scott Shealy each drove in two runs in game two for Milligan.

David Ott was 3-for-4 with a run scored and RBI for King (5-8, 10-17). Three errors spelled doom for the Tornado."I think we had good intensity," King coach Craig Kleinmann said.

"Sometimes we didn't catch the breaks. We talked about making our own breaks and we couldn't do that today. But you can't say that's what causes you to lose games. We had our chances, but just didn't capitalize on a lot of opportunities."In the opener, Simmons threw seven quality innings to earn the win but received some quality defense in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.After intentionally walking Belcher to load the bases with one out, Simmons got John Patterson to ground into a 4-2-3 double play to end the game.

Meade, a sophomore from Lebanon, had two hits in game one and finished 4-for-6 on the day. Martin had two hits for King in game one.The two teams' will close out their three-game series today at 1 p.m., weather permitting.

Milligan............. 010 013 0--5 6 0
King College .....011 002 0--4 9 2
Simmons and Chandler. Rodriguez and Patterson. Win--Simmons. Loss--Rodriguez. HR--none.------Milligan ..........040 013 1--9 11 0
King College... 000 130 0--4 8 3
Barrett, McAllister (5) and Chandler. Parker, O'Dell (5), Harold (6) and Patterson. Win--Barrett. Loss--Parker. Save--McAllister. HR--none.

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About Milligan College

Milligan College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Northeast Tennessee, nationally recognized for its commitment to excellence in academic, social and spiritual development. The college has consistently been named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit www.milligan.edu or call 423.461.8719.

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