April 17, 2009
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team took advantage of a stellar outing by starter James Hausman (Milford) and a much-improved defense to claim the first game of its Heartland Conference series with an 11-3 victory over perennial-power Rose-Hulman on Friday, April 17, at Memorial Field. The Beavers improved to 10-17 overall and 4-9 in the conference with their second straight win, while the Engineers fell to 20-11 and 10-6 in the HCAC.
Bluffton put up all the runs it would need when it pasted a five-spot on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning. With one down and runners at first and second, junior Cody McPherson (Northwood/Millbury Lake) ripped a double to the wall in left center, scoring Nick Broyles (Toledo/Whitmer) and sending Stephen Torres (Lima/Juan Diego) to third. One out and a walk to Brett Howard (Toledo/St. Francis) later, Corey Conn (London) delivered a two-RBI single to right field for a 3-0 lead. Chris Bauman's (Milford) single through the right side plated Howard before a Rose miscue allowed Conn to make it 5-0.
The Engineers made it 5-2 in the top of the fifth when Tim Tepe, who finished with three extra-base hits on the afternoon, smoked a Hausman pitch off the top of the fence in right field for a two-run triple.
A two-run seventh for the Beavers pushed their advantage back to five, heading to the eighth. Three hit batters, a free pass to Brett Howard and an RBI single by Cory Stephens (Lima/Bath) made the score 7-2 in favor of the home team.
Three singles by the Engineers loaded the bases for Troy Eveslage who picked up Keenan Long with a one-out sacrifice fly to right field, but a fielder's choice ended the inning and the scoring threat for RHIT.
The Beavers tacked on four more unearned runs in the home half of the eighth to put the game on ice. Chris Bauman's single to left scored McPherson who walked to open the frame. Curtis Schroeder (Shelby) crossed the plate thanks to another Rose error before Cory Stephens ended the barrage with a single up the middle that plated both Bauman and Brett Howard.
Tyler Stephenson (Springfield/Northeastern) worked around another Tim Tepe two-bagger in the ninth to secure his third save of the season. He gave up one run in 2.2 innings of relief after entering the game in the seventh with a 5-2 lead. James Hausman moved to 1-1 with 6.1 solid innings on the hill. The senior limited the Engineers to two runs on six hits with four strikeouts.
Cory Stephens continued his assault on opposing pitching since being inserted as the starting shortstop at Manchester less than two weeks ago. He went 4-of-5 with three RBI. McPherson and Bauman both tallied two hits in the victory. Conn and Bauman drove in two runs each, while McPherson and Bauman both scored two runs. Howard drew three walks, was hit by a pitch and scored three runs for the Beavers.
Bluffton resumes its three-game series with the Engineers on Saturday, April 18. The first contest is slated to start at 12 p.m.
-BEAVERS-