March 7, 2018
By: Colton Steiner, sports information assistant
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Bluffton University baseball team hit the diamond to face off against the Rivier Raiders on Wednesday, March 7. The Beavers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 6-0 victory in game one and a thrilling 15-9 win in the second game of the day. The pair of wins moves them to 6-2 on the season.
Bluffton went up early after REID MAUS (Hamilton/Badin) scored COLIN GREGORY (Fremont/Clyde) with a sacrifice fly. Neither team would score in the second but a RYAN GOLDEN (Findlay) 2-run dinger to right in the third put the Beavers up 3-0. Bluffton added another run in the fourth inning after Colin Gregory's two-bagger scored ALEX LEMANSKI (Miamisburg). The Beavers put up two more runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to an RBI triple by Lemanski and a run-scoring single by freshman REID RUHL (Hamilton) as they forged a 6-0 advantage en route to the shutout victory.
Leading the charge was Colin Gregory who was a perfect 3-for-3, scoring twice and knocking in an RBI. Ryan Golden smoked his second home run of the season and Alex Lemanski notched a pair of hits to go along with a pair of runs for the Beavers.
JACK BONDY (Avon) was dominant in his first start of the season on the mound. Despite allowing five walks, Bondy gave up no runs on four hits and he struck out a pair on the way to his first win!
Game two on the afternoon had a far different tone. The Beavers were already down 5-0 before their first turn at the plate. Ryan Golden got Bluffton on the board with an RBI single to right to make it a 5-1 game in the bottom of first. Following a Colin Gregory steal of home, JACOB LATKOFSKY (Temperance, Mich./Ida) ripped a double, scoring Golden to cut the Raider lead to 5-3. The Beavers would round out the inning with RBI singles by LENNNY WINIARSKI (Cincinnati/LaSalle) and ADAM DUNCAN (Northwood/Lake) to tie the contest at 5-5.
Rivier answered in the top of the second with three runs to jump ahead, 8-5. Bluffton would not be outdone, opening the bottom of the frame with an RBI single by Colin Gregory which plated Reid Ruhl. Following an RBI single by Lenny Winiarski, a wild pitch scored a run for the Beavers to tie the game up at 8. Bluffton's scoring parade continued with three more runs for an 11-8 advantage before the dust settled.
The home team on the scoreboard would add two more runs in the third off a wild pitch and an AUSTIN GOETZMAN (Mount Vernon) base knock. A solo run in the fourth came from a Ryan Golden sacrifice fly to extend the Beaver lead to 14-8. The Raiders put up a run in the fifth off a sacrifice fly but Bluffton responded with an RBI by Reid Ruhl as they marched on to a 15-9 win over Rivier, capping the Wednesday sweep.
Following a 3-for-3 outing in the first game, Colin Gregory mirrored his performance, going 3-for-3 at the plate and scoring three times in game two. Lenny Winiarski chipped in with a pair of hits and two RBI. Scoring three times and knocking home a pair of runs for the Beavers, Ryan Golden drew a pair of free passes as well.
Picking up the win and moving to 2-1 on the year was junior DANTE D'ANDREA (Westerville/North) who fanned three batters and allowed just one run on four hits in his 5.0 innings of standout relief.
Bluffton will head back to the field on Thursday, March 8, when they will face off against the Hiram College Terriers at 3 p.m. You can keep up to date on all the action down in Florida on Twitter @Bluffton_sports and on www.bluffton.edu/athletics
-BEAVERS-