Baseball team hammers Milligan 14-2 in AAC Championship opener, plays again in Kingsport on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Reinhardt collected three runs before Milligan recorded an out and added three more in the third inning to lead 6-0. The Eagles scored five times in the fourth inning, twice in the fifth and once more in the sixth, increasing their advantage to 14-0. The Buffaloes avoided a shutout by tallying two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it was not enough as the game ended due to the 10-run mercy rule.

The winners pounded out 14 hits and made no errors, compared to six and four, respectively, for Milligan. All nine batters in Reinhardt's starting lineup had at least one hit. The Eagles left 10 runners on base and the Buffaloes two.

At the plate for Reinhardt, freshman Phillip Bates was 3-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch, two RBIs and a run scored while Michael Lonati finished 2-for-3 with a triple, walk, hit-by-pitch, three runs scored and two RBIs. Billy King went 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and pair of RBIs while Zach Kles ended 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.

Josh Wilson pitched the Eagles' first complete game of the season in registering the win. Over seven innings, he struck out two and walked one. Wilson threw 99 pitches, including 63 strikes.

Reinhardt improves to 18-33 overall while Milligan falls to 21-27. On Wednesday at 5 p.m. in tournament action, the Eagles play the winner between the No. 6-seeded Bryan College Lions and second-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan College Bulldogs. The winner of the double-elimination tournament earns the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship event.