(KINGSPORT, Tenn.) – The No. 8-seeded Truett McConnell University baseball team eliminated the No. 4-seeded Milligan University with a 9-4 win to advance in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Hunter Wright Stadium.
 
The win put TMU at 28-22, 14-15 AAC on the season. The Bears will now face the loser of the 7:00 p.m., game with No. 5-seeded Columbia International University and No. 1-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan University.
 
HOT START, STRONG FINISH (9-4)
After holding Milligan scoreless at the top of the first, Josh Johnston led off the bottom half with a walk and went on to put the Bears up on the board first on Mason Gaines’ sacrifice fly to right field (1-0). Mikal Mascarello reached base on a right field single and scored on Kodi Bishop’s single to right (2-0). Neither team scored in the second and third innings, but the Bears stayed hot with back-to-back three-run innings in the fourth and fifth. Will Ingram particularly sparked the fourth with a leadoff single. Pinch runner Ethan Roberts scored on J. Johnston’s single up the middle (3-0) and Mascarello singled again to score Devyn Munroe and J. Johnston (5-0) before the Buffs answered with three runs of their own in the fifth (5-3). But TMU got right back out front by five again on a pair of doubles from Munroe and J. Johnston (8-3).
 
Ingram was credited the RBI that scored TMU’s final run of the day on a Milligan wild throw (9-3) in the sixth. The top of the seventh saw Milligan score once more on a single up the middle but the Bears held Milligan scoreless the rest of the way forcing the No. 4-seeded Buffs to leave a total of three on base, ultimately resulting in final score of 9-4.
 
LEADERS
Overall, TMU recorded a total of 12 hits to Milligan’s 13. J. Johnston led the Bears with a perfect day going 2-for-2 with three RBIs, two runs, a double and two walks. Mascarello followed going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. King also went 2-for-4, while Ingram went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Tanner Griffith and Munroe went 1-for-3. A. Johnston and Bishop added one hit apiece. Bishop, Gaines and Munroe added one RBI apiece.
 
Pitcher Craig Barton made the start for TMU and pitched four scoreless innings of four hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Andrew Fry, Jared Johnson, Cason Brown and Jonathan Joiner all relieved combining for a total of four strikeouts. Brown was credited the win after throwing one scoreless inning of one hit and two strikeouts. 

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