KINGSPORT, TN (May 2, 2009) -- After a three hour rain delay on Saturday in the opening round of play of the AAC Baseball Conference Tournament, #5 Montreat and #4 Milligan faced off and after twelve innings of play, at 1:50 am Milligan would come out of top 10-6.

Both teams saw three up and three down during the first two innings, including the top of the third for Milligan.  In the bottom of the third, Montreat's Daniel Benner was the first Cavalier to reach base on a single to left field, however was later thrown out in a double play.

In the top of the fourth, Milligan's lead off hitter, Spencer Street, hit a double into left field. On a wild pitch by Montreat's starting pitcher Garrett Jones, Street was able to score, putting Milligan on the scoreboard first 1-0.  

In the bottom of the fourth inning, on a 2-1 count, Cavalier senior Jesse Wise hit a solo home run to left field to tie the game at 1-1.

For Milligan in the fifth inning, Dallas Crouch sent a home run sailing to left field to give the Buffs a 2-1 advantage. Milligan attacked again in the sixth inning by adding two more runs to hold a 4-1 lead.  Street had his second hit of the game with a single to second base.  Justin Motte then was able to get a hit through a hole and second base to advance Street to second base.  Brian Busby cleaned the bases with a double to left-center for two RBI's and to give Milligan the 4-1 lead.

Montreat finally ended their dry spell in the seventh inning with Jesse Wise's second hit of the game with a single to right field. Ryan Bostian would come in to pinch run for Wise.  Junior Josh Ashton would advance Bostian with a single through the hole at second base. Junior Steven Hoyle would reach first on a walk by Milligan pitcher Collin Duffie, which with one out would load the bases for Benner.  Benner would strike out swinging giving Montreat two outs and bases loaded.   Junior Adam Speas would come in to pinch hit for J.J. Estevez.  Milligan would send in Aaron Dorriety to pitch for Duffie.  Speas reached first on a fielder's choice, with Ashton being forced out to end the inning.  

Going into the eighth inning, Milligan held a 4-1 advantage. Montreat would put in junior side-armer Brian Greene to replace Jones.  Milligan's Randy Rabon reached first on a single in the infield.  Rabon would later steal second. Street continued his great play for the night for the Buffs with a single to first base. Rabon would advance to third, but scored on the play on Cameron Duckworth's wild throw to home giving Milligan a 5-1 lead. With two outs, Buffs' Eric Oxley would single up the middle, advancing Street to third base. On Montreat's third error of the night, a bobble by J.J. Estevez, Spencer would score another run for Milligan.  Oxley would later steal second. Montreat would finally get out of the inning on a pop out by Milligan.  In the eighth inning, Milligan had two runs off of three hits and Montreat had two errors leading to a Milligan 6-1 advantage.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, junior Dustin Bartlett led off for the Cavaliers and grounded out to the pitcher's mound.  Milligan replaced Dorriety with Justin Hullett. Lucas Martin would also ground out to the pitcher's mound.  Senior Justin Cockrell would come in to pinch hit for Casey Duckworth, but would fly out to center field.

Andrew Tallent would come in to relieve Brian Greene in the ninth inning for Montreat. Greene gave up two unearned runs off of three hits in one inning of play.  Tallent would walk Crouch to start off the inning, but would get two quick outs.  On a 3-2 count, Tallent walked Kendall Williams. Street would ground out to the pitcher's mound to end the inning.  

Down 6-1 going into the ninth inning, the Cavs had major work to do to play catch up, but had Wise, Cameron Duckworth, and Ashton up to bat.  Milligan would replace Hullett with Jason Trivett. Wise continued his stellar play with a single to third base, and would advance to second during the play on Street's wild throw to first base. On a 3-2 count, Trivett walked Cam Duckworth, with Wise staying on second base.  With a 0-2 count, Josh Ashton doubled to deep right-center, scoring Wise and advancing Duckworth to third base, making it 6-2.  Hoyle would strike out looking to give Montreat their first out of the inning. Trivett would load the bases on a Benner walk.  Jordan Sells would come in to pinch hit for Estevez.  Trivett would walk a run home for Montreat with his base on balls to Sells, giving Milligan just a 6-3 lead. Ryan Bostian would come in to pinch hit for Dustin Bartlett with one out and bases loaded in the ninth inning.  Bostian would strike out swinging to give the Cavs two outs. With a 1-2 count, a wild pitch by Trivett would score Ashton and narrow the lead 6-4 for Milligan.  Lucas Martin would hit a shot to Street and would reach first on Street's bobble, also allowing Benner and Sells to score tying the game at 6-6 with two outs. Cockrell would end the inning with a strike out.  Montreat's outstanding ninth inning led to five runs off of two hits and two errors by Milligan with one left on base, and would force extra innings.

At 12:45 am, Montreat and Milligan began the tenth inning.  Montreat would send in junior Seth Blevins to relieve Tallent.  In Tallent's one inning, he gave up no hits.  Milligan's Justin Motte would start things for Milligan in extra innings with a single up the middle. Busby's sacrifice bunt would advance Motte to second.  With one out, the decision was made to intentionally walk Oxley and advance pinch runner Ben Taylor to second.  With a 2-2 count to Ricky Morgan, Montreat decided to relieve Blevins with senior Patrick Ballew.  Ballew would strike out Morgan for the second out.  Crouch would reach on a fielder's choice that would force out Oxley to end the top of the tenth for Milligan.

For Montreat, Wise, Cam Duckworth, and Josh Ashton would be the first up to bat; which accounted for five of Montreat's six hits on the evening.  Milligan would use their fifth pitcher of the night by bringing in Frank Newcomb. Wise picked up his fourth hit of the game and sparked the Cavs at bat with a single to center. Cam Duckworth, Josh Ashton, and Steven Hoyle all struck out swinging to give the Cavs their three outs.

In the top of the eleventh, Coach Little stayed with Ballew and it paid off. Seven pitches later the Cavs were back to batting with no runs and no hits allowed.  Milligan stayed with Newcomb in the bottom of the inning with Daniel Benner at bat.  On a 2-0 count, Benner flied out to right field and Suttles followed suit with an out to left.  Junior Dustin Bartlett had his first hit of the game with a single past the short stop.  Leadoff Lucas Martin would end the inning with an out to center field.

Senior pitcher John Shannon became the sixth pitcher for Montreat in the twelfth inning to relieve Ballew. Milligan's Street had his fourth hit of the game with a single through the hole at second base. Motte bunted and reached first on Shannon's bobble.  Street advanced to second.  Busby would also bunt for the Buffs and successfully reach first, while advancing Street to third and Motte to second. With a 2-2 count, Oxley was hit by a pitch that allowed Street to reach home and give Milligan a 7-6 lead with no outs. Ricky Morgan reached first on a fielder's choice that forced out Motte at home. Crouch reached first on a fielder's choice that scored Busby and forced Morgan out at third.  Milligan led 8-6 with two outs. Todd Caldwell hit his first hit of the game with a single to left field that scored Oxley.  Brandon Murphy would follow with a hit to center field that scored Crouch giving Milligan a 10-6 lead. With a 3-2 count, Shannon walked Rabon. Junior Steven Hoyle would come in to pitch for Montreat with bases loaded and two outs.  Shannon pitched 0.2 inning and gave up four runs off of four hits. With his second at bat that inning, Street flied out to center to end the inning.  Milligan scored four runs in the twelfth to have a commanding 10-6 lead.

Senior Justin Cockrell was the leadoff batter for Montreat in the bottom of the twelfth inning.  Cockrell flied out to center for the first out.  Jesse Wise popped out to second base for the second out of the inning.  Cam Duckworth flied out to center on the first pitch to end the game.  At 1:50 am, after twelve innings of play, Milligan defeated Montreat 10-6.

Newcomb from Milligan would earn his first win of the 2009 season, while Montreat's John Shannon would take his third loss this season (5-3).  For Montreat, starting pitcher, senior Garrett Jones would go seven innings and give up four runs off of six hits and strike out six batters.

Leading the Cavaliers was senior Jesse Wise who went 4-for-6 including a home run and one RBI.  Junior Josh Ashton went 2-for-5 and had the other RBI for Montreat, while Daniel Benner and Dustin Bartlett had one hit apiece.  

Montreat moves into the loser's bracket and will face #8 Covenant College on Monday, May 4 in a 12:30 pm start time. Covenant lost to #1 Tennessee Wesleyan earlier on Saturday 8-3. For more AAC Baseball Tournament information and a tournament bracket click here.