Lady Buffs anticipate softball tourney

They may have ended the season on a low note on Tuesday, but the Milligan College Lady Buffs softball team is ready to compete in the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament next week.

“I was very disappointed in the season and definitely expected our team to finish (ranked) one or two for the regular season,” said head coach Wes Holly. “We returned the top two pitchers in the conference from last year, but they did not throw as well this year but we also were not a solid team defensively.”

The Lady Buffs lost both games in a doubleheader against Tennessee Wesleyan College on Tuesday afternoon to end the regular season.

In the first game, senior Brandy Waddle, this week’s AAC pitcher of the week, controlled the mound. Milligan held control up until the final inning. When Tennessee Wesleyan went to bat in the bottom of the seventh, Milligan led 4-2. After tying the game, Wesleyan third baseman April Green drove a three-run homer out of the park, defeating the Lady Buffs 4-7.

“Our pitching and defense did not close the first game,” Holly said.

The second game followed a much different path when the Lady Bulldogs shut out Milligan 0-10.
“After the first loss, the team just did not collect themselves and was not focused to play the second game,” Holly said.

Only junior Courtney Ruth and freshman Heather Poindexter were able to connect with the ball; nevertheless, their hits were not enough to put Milligan on the board.

“Our overall hitting was inconsistent as this is the lowest hitting team (.245) that I have ever had at Milligan College,” Holly said.

“After we lost the first game we couldn’t motivate ourselves to swing the bats (in the second game), which made for a long game and resulted in a huge loss,” Ruth said.

Milligan lost another doubleheader to Tennessee Wesleyan earlier in the season. The losses bring Milligan’s regular season record to a final of 25 wins and 17 losses. Their conference record currently stands at 19-13.

It has yet to be determined who the Lady Buffs will face in the conference tournament which begins next Wednesday and will be held at the Bristol Sports Complex in Bristol, Tenn. The tournament brackets are scheduled to be announced tomorrow. “I suspect Milligan will be seeded fourth or fifth in the bracket,” Holly said.

“We have set practices for the weekend and I spoke to the team in regard to the importance of winning the AAC,” Holly said, “The tournament is a new season and a challenge to the players to prepare and play up to their potential in order to continue their post-season to regionals and even nationals.”