Photo by Ryan C. Harris
By Erika Fox
Reporter
April 7, 2006
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Kory Kinnear hits a RBI to bring the score to 9-1. Photo by Ryan C. Harris |
The Milligan baseball team lost an Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader against Bluefield College Saturday at Anglin Field. The final score was 14-10 for game one and 1-0 for game two, bringing the Buffs to 12-20 overall and 5-5 in the AAC.
In game one, junior pitcher Brett Seybert gave up one unearned run in the top of the first and eight more runs during his time on the mound. He had five strikeouts.
“I couldn’t throw the ball where I wanted it to go,” Seybert said.
In a promising first inning, Milligan stepped up offensively to pull ahead with nine runs. Freshman Spencer Street started the rally with a triple. Senior Dave Rusaw walked and junior Kory Kinnear was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded, back-to-back singles by freshman Tyler Turner, junior Jon Edmonds, and sophomore Drew Anders brought more runners home.
Junior Clint Dorman hit a sacrifice fly and senior Will Little singled. Street doubled, Rusaw had a sacrifice groundout, and Kinnear had one RBI to bring the score to 9-1 in the bottom of the first.
Bluefield gained momentum for the rest of the game, scoring four runs in the second inning, five in the sixth, and two each in the eighth and ninth.
The Buffs could not keep up, scoring only one more run before the game ended.
Game two ended in another loss for the Buffs, as they did not score any runs.
Sophomore Adam Snyder showed strong pitching, but offensively, the Buffs did not back him up. He pitched a complete game, with no walks and three strikeouts.
He said the problem was that there were “no timely hits.”
Milligan managed a few hits, led by junior Garett Reed, who went 2-for-3 in game two. Turner, Little, and Rusaw each added singles.
As far as improvement, junior Justin Sauceman, who is still unable to play due to a hamstring injury, offered some advice.
“We need to take it one day at a time,” Sauceman said, quoting the baseball movie “Bull Durham.”
The Buffs got a shot to redeem themselves on Tuesday against North Greenville College at Anglin Field.
Milligan split the doubleheader with the help of exceptional pitching in both games. The Crusaders won the first game with a score of 1-0 and the Buffs won game two, 4-3.
What was supposed to be a seven-inning game turned into a 10-inning game as the Buffs battled the Crusaders through nine scoreless innings in game one. North Greenville finally took the lead with one run in the top of the tenth, bringing the final score to 1-0.
Freshman Adam Chapman pitched seven shutout innings, allowing two hits. He struck out five Crusaders and walked four before relief pitcher freshman Andrew Klahn took over.
“Both pitchers threw well today and everyone played well in general,” junior pitcher J.P. Penland said. “Unfortunately we came up short in game one.”
The Buffs had six hits throughout the game, with two singles from Rusaw, who went 2-for-3. Kinnear added two more singles, going 2-for-4. Turner and Reed each singled.
Game two ended in a 4-3 victory for the Buffs who showed strength offensively as well as defensively.
Stephen Jarrett pitched a complete game, allowing three runs, only two of which were earned, and seven hits. Jarrett struck out one and walked none.
“Cody (Cannon) and I tried to keep them off balance with the off-speed pitches,” Jarrett said. “My defense really picked me up when I needed it.”
The Buff’s offense backed Jarrett up with four runs in seven innings.
“We had some timely hitting and showed we had some heart by holding onto a lead and putting away a strong team,” Jarrett said.
Rusaw led Milligan with two doubles and an RBI, and Reed went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Junior outfielder Cody Whitlock added a single and an RBI. Junior catcher Cody Cannon added a single in the second inning and Little added one in the fourth to bring the final score to 4-3.
“We ended the day on a positive note, which is motivating for our games coming up this week,” Penland said.
Milligan will play a doubleheader against Virginia Intermont College tomorrow in Bristol, Va., with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.