Beavers drop a pair to Saint John's on Tuesday afternoon

Beavers drop a pair to Saint John's on Tuesday afternoon

By: Joseph Watkins, sports information asistant

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Bluffton University baseball team struggled to put up runs in a doubleheader sweep (8-0 and 9-2) at the hands of Saint John's (Minn.) on Tuesday, March 5. Bluffton slipped to 2-4 on the season, while the Johnnies stayed perfect at 4-0.

Saint John's jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning of game one despite just two hits. The Johnnies took advantage of three walks, four wild pitches and a Bluffton error en route to the big inning.

Another SJU run in the third and two more in the fifth capped the scoring as Bluffton managed just four hits in its third straight loss.

Senior Jack Bondy (Avon) took the loss after allowing five runs, three earned, on just two hits. He walked two and struck out two in 1.1 innings of work. Brantley Curnutte (Hilliard/Davidson) saw his first action in almost a year, tossing a perfect seventh with two strikeouts.

Bluffton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when senior Colin Gregory (Fremont/Clyde) hit a two-run bomb. Unfortunately, those turned out to be the only runs the Beavers were able to score in 14 innings against SJU. Bluffton struggled to make contact, striking out a whopping 29 times on Tuesday.

The Johnnies needed just two big innings to put the game on ice. The first came in the second frame when they put up a four-spot thanks to a few Bluffton errors and a double. In the sixth, they tacked on five more following two more Beaver mistakes in the field. The Johnnies were just too much for Bluffton in the end, downing the Beavers 9-2 in game two of the doubleheader.

Freshman Zac Nobis (Bryan) took the loss after allowing eight runs, four earned, on just four hits. He walked three and struck out two in 5.1 innings of work. Eddie Budinski (Louisville) came on in relief, giving up one run on two hits while striking out one.

Bluffton will look to regroup during its off day on Wednesday before a single game against Thiel College at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 7. Go Beavers!

-BEAVERS-