Milton Academy Baseball Falls to Undefeated Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

Milton Academy and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School were locked in a tight defensive baseball game on Saturday, May 15, until a BB&N junior hit a long, solo homerun in the sixth inning.

The late game bomb off the bat of junior Devin Perry was all the Knights needed to remain undefeated, taking the home contest 1-0. The loss moved the Milton Academy Mustags to a record of 9-5, but coach Matt Petherick said he's proud of the way his team played.

"I told them it's going to sting for a little bit, but we came out and competed against one of the best teams in the state," said Petherick.

Pitcher Erik Jacobsen led the Mustangs in a strong defensive effort, pitching the complete game and striking out four batters. In the fourth inning he retired two batters in succession, and pulled off the same feat after Perry's homerun in the sixth.

In both the third and fifth innings, the Knights managed to get two runners on base. In those instances, the Mustangs rallied and ended the frame without giving up a run.

"We let some balls drop, but we battled back and made the  plays that needed to be made," Petherick said.

At the plate, Milton Academy struggled to build momentum, primarily because of the seven inning and six strikeouts from BB&N pitcher Andrew Chin. Milton only sent nine batters to the plate in the first three innings, with three of them striking out.

In the top of the fifth, Milton was presented with their best chance to score. First basemen Jordan Berry was hit by a pitch, before being advanced by a Jacobsen bunt. The calculated play continued as third basemen Danny Doherty advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Chin got the Knights out of the jam by forcing a pop up and striking out a batter in the next two at bats.

The Mustangs will be back in action on Wednesday at Groton, before the regular season finale at home Friday against Nobles.