Cassie Lomison
Reporter
The softball team split a double header last Wednesday with NCAA Division II Tusculum College. The Lady Buffs took the first game winning 3-2 and lost the second 0-7.
In the first game, transfer junior Traci Harrison pitched the first six innings only giving up two runs and eight hits. Junior Brandy Waddle came in on the seventh inning to wrap up the game.
“I was a little nervous since coach Holly started me the first game of the season,” Harrison said. “Considering I have only been throwing indoors, I suppose my pitching was fair, but I know I will be a much better pitcher once we get into the season.”
In the first inning, Tusculum had an early start scoring two runs, leaving the score 0-2. The score remained 0-2 until the top of the fifth inning when freshmen Ashley Mashburn and Megan Aldridge hit back-to-back doubles, making the score 1-2 with Mashburn scoring the first run.
In the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Rebecca Gilley hit a double, with two RBIs coming from Aldridge and freshman Leah Fritts, giving Milligan their first victory 3-2.
“We swung the bats pretty well the first game,” coach Wes Holly. “Traci Harrison did a nice job of pitching.”
The second game, however, Tusculum left Milligan scoreless, winning the second game 0-7, giving Waddle her first loss of the year.
“The second game I was a little disappointed because we didn’t swing the bats nearly as well as we did the first game,” Holly said. “We only got one hit. The ballgame was 0-0 and Brandy gave up a two-run homerun in the third inning. It seemed as if we lost our mentality.
Holly was overall pleased with the team’s performance on Wednesday because of the lack of field practice.
Holly said he thinks the team could be contenders this year for the Appalachian Athletic Conference title.