BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team welcomed Anderson University to Memorial Field for the second time in four days on Sunday, April 25, 2021. Bluffton took game one, 7-5, before Anderson secured the split with a 4-1 victory in the series finale. The Beavers moved to 13-19 overall and in the conference, while Anderson stands at 16-12 on the season.
Anderson put up single runs in each of the first two innings before Reid Ruhl's (Hamilton) fielder's choice plated Adam Duncan (Northwood/Lake), making it 2-1 Ravens. A three-run fourth was set up when Duncan's attempted sacrifice bunt elicited a throw down the right field line, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Jeff Strayer (Columbus/Thomas Worthington) came home on Kenny Schneider's (Sunbury/Big Walnut) RBI groundout and Jaxon Rogan (Marysville) singled in Duncan, putting Bluffton on top. Jack Towell (Batavia/West Clermont) made it 4-2 with his sacrifice fly to right that picked up Rogan.
Ruhl tripled and scurried home on a Raven wild pitch in the sixth. Parker Reynolds (Avon) made it 6-4 in favor of the good guys with his RBI single. The graduate student did it again two innings later when his base knock plated Jacob Latkofsky (Temperance, Mich./Ida) with a valuable insurance run as the Beavers came away with a 7-5 victory in game one.
Tommy Siemer (Liberty Township/Lakota East) worked around eight walks as he improved to 5-1 on the season. He allowed four runs on eight hits with five strikeouts in seven innings on the hill. Seth Evans (Ada/OSU-Lima) tossed two shutout frames for his third save of the season.
Latkofsky, Reynolds and Schneider all finished with two hits in game one. Duncan and Latkofsky both scored two runs, while Reynolds drove in two.
The Bluffton bats were silent in the series capper as Anderson's Kasey Henderson went the distance, allowing just one unearned run on five hits in a complete-game effort. He struck out eight and walked four. Rogan scored Bluffton's lone run on a throwing error in the bottom of the seventh with Anderson attempting to turn a double play.
Sophomore Jacob Boelkens (Millbury/Lake) turned in a quality start. allowing three runs, just one earned, on seven hits in seven innings of work. He struck out four and issued just one free pass.
Bluffton is off until next Saturday, May 1, when the Beavers welcome Hanover College on Senior Day. Game one is slated for 1 p.m. at Memorial Field.
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