Local graduates playing key roles for Milligan on diamonds

ELIZABETHTON — There is a local flavor on the diamonds at Milligan University. Check out the leading batters for the baseball and softball programs. Unaka graduate Alana Parsons was batting .468 while leading the Milligan softball team in nine different offensive categories, while Gaven Jones of Daniel Boone is batting .432, while pacing the Milligan baseball team in eight statistics at the plate. "I think a really big component is getting local people, county people to come and play for a school that is in your hometown," said Parsons, who is part of a starting lineup that is comprised of nearly all regional graduates, including fellow Unaka grad Sadie Shoun. Jones, who plays third base and bats second, leads a Milligan (31-8, 17-4) offense that is currently tied for 15th nationally in NAIA with a .333 batting average. He leads the Buffaloes with 63 hits, 54 runs, six triples, six home runs, 20 stolen bases, in addition to a .509 on-base, .705 slugging percentage and a 1.214 OPS. He also has 10 doubles, 26 RBIs and 21 walks, and has more than 70 career stolen bases, which has shattered the school record. "It is a team game at the end of the day. The guys around me are hitting really well. If you look at their numbers they are all .300 hitters. As a team we are hitting it really well," Jones said. "Just having team success fuels you to just keep going and it is contagious in a sense. It helps me with guys getting on in front of me and guys hitting me in behind me. At the end of the day I think we are working for each other's stats." Parsons, who plays third base and bats in the lower part of a potent lineup, played one season at Lees-McRae before returning closer to home. She led Milligan (17-15, 12-8) heading into Thursday's Appalachian Athletic Conference twinbill with Bluefield with 44 hits, 24 runs, six home runs, 40 RBIs, three triples, a .505 on-base, .787 slugging percentage and a 1.268 OPS. She also had six doubles, five stolen bases and eight walks. She has recorded more 100 career hits, was five away from 100 RBIs and her 21 home runs was within striking distance of the school record of 29. "I just hit 100 hits for my career here at Milligan, that is just something that stands out to me," said Parsons, who had a walkoff home run last Friday in a win over Union Commonwealth. "This year my home runs have come in big moments so I think that is important to me." Jones started his career at Milligan as a pitcher, posting a 7-2 record and 3.14 ERA in 2022 before enduring shoulder surgery the following season. He pitched five games in 2024 before switching to hitting on a regular basis. "College baseball has always kind of been a dream of mine. We always played, baseball is my first love. I grew up playing it since I was probably three years old, my brother played it. Dad was always there and coaching us," he said. "There were a lot of trials and tribulations in high school and I got skeptical about myself and my coaches and my dad encouraged me to go to the next level to play." After batting .316 in 2024 and .265 last season, Jones has raised his average nearly 200 points in his final campaign on the diamond. "I think just the consistency...Really, it is like a running joke with my teammates, it is kind of like a retirement tour," Jones said. "It is my last year, there is nothing to lose so just kind of playing with your hair on fire and just doing everything you can for the team and it is working for me." Parsons wasn't sure about playing college softball until she was seen at a tournament in South Carolina by a Lees-McRae coach and wound up in Banner Elk for one season. "It was a big jump from high school, it's a D-2 school, a very competitive conference along with King University in there," she said. "I played shortstop all throughout high school and I got moved to third base and it was pretty shocking. I loved it. I loved the girls that were there. "The school to myself didn't feel like home so I knew I needed to have a change there." Parsons returned home and has been producing ever since, increasing her batting average over the last three seasons from .294, to .407 and now .468, and was ranked fourth in the AAC in batting and second in RBIs. "I think seeing the potential that I could be at a college. I know I didn't want my talent to go to waste," she said. "Going into my senior year I wasn't expecting to play college so I really wasn't out there looking for scouting or anything like that…That (coach) just kind of sparked my interest from there." Parsons, who is working on degrees in criminal justice and psychology with plans of working with foster care children and as a therapist, is hopeful of a deep postseason run. "I think when it is comes tournament time it is just one game and we are just going to have to show up in that one game," she said. "We just hope to make a good run." Jones, who has a degree in computer science and is working on a masters in Business Administration, is looking to finish his baseball career with a flourish. "I set some milestones for myself at the start of the year and I am trying to get them. I know it is a little bit of an individual mindset, but the team comes first," he said. "I want us to have a good year and go back to a regional game like we did two years ago and hopefully get to play in the World Series, which would be a dream of mine." Both seniors will miss friends and cherish the memories of their collegiate careers, but don't expect them to desert the sports they love. "I want to have a son and coach him," Jones said. "That is a big thing for me. I will definitely be around. I love the game and I want to give back to it."