COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU baseball took the field on Friday night at home for the first time this season to open up their Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series against (RV) Milligan University (Tenn.). The Rams have beaten the Buffalos three times in program history, but they would fall tonight 8-3. CIU is now 1-4 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
Milligan took the lead in the first inning after a couple of singles and a stolen base. They added another run in the top of the third after a single and a double. The Rams threatened to push across a run in the bottom of the third but could not bring anyone around; however, they responded in the bottom of the fourth after Price Alexander scored on an RBI single from Jan Maldonado (2-1).
The Buffalos added two more runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth to extend their lead to 6-1. CIU pushed back in the eighth and added two runs of their own to close the gap to just three.
Milligan scratched out two more runs in the ninth after a couple of singles and a passed ball, but CIU could not respond and dropped game one of the series.
Box Score Notes:
- Justin Parish got the start on the mound and struck out five in 5.1 IP.
- JT Stanley appeared on the mound for the first time this season and collected one strikeout and no earned runs in 2.2 innings.
- Alexander, Maldonado, Shane Hammonds, and Rafael Gonzales collected two hits each.
Up Next: CIU is back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 18, at 12 and 3 PM for games two and three in the series against Milligan.
