LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University baseball team led 2-0 and 3-1, but four Quaker runs in the top of the seventh pushed Earlham to a 6-4 win in the semifinal game of the 2021 Heartland Conference Tournament on Saturday, May 22. The Beavers had their deepest HCAC tourney run in school history, going 4-2 over the past two weekends en route to a final mark of 20-24 this season. Earlham moved into the HCAC title tilt against host and top-seeded Transylvania University.
Four Bluffton singles in the bottom of the second inning added up to an early 1-0 lead when junior Brandon Wilson (Casstown/Miami East) plated graduate senior Parker Reynolds (Avon) who led off the frame with a base knock to right center.
Coach Grandey was pulling the right strings in the top of the fifth when he ordered an intentional walk to load the bases with one out. Seth Altman (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson) induced an inning-ending twin killing as Earlham hit a ground ball to third! The freshman exited with a 2-0 lead when Jake Baumgartner (Toledo/Start) picked up Jacob Latkofsky (Temperence, Mich./Ida) with his one-out single.
Earlham scored its first run in the top of the sixth, but a Quaker error and two Bluffton bunts, including a squeeze by senior Reid Ruhl (Hamilton), made it 3-1 heading to the seventh inning.
The seventh saw Earlham find its offense as the visitors on the scoreboard pounded out four hits and took advantage of a Bluffton error, scoring four times and taking a 5-3 lead. The Quakers added an unearned score in the eighth, making it 6-3 before Latkofsky drove in Garrett O'Reilly (Galena/Orange) in the home half, but a Jack Towell (Batavia/West Clermont) single was all Bluffton could muster in the final frame as Earlham moved into the HCAC championship game thanks to its 6-4 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Altman was outstanding, tossing five shutout innings while allowing just three hits. He walked four and struck out three but did not factor in the decision. Junior Spencer Garrison (West Salem/Northwestern) ended his season with a 3-1 mark after giving up two runs on four hits in one inning of relief.
Latkofsky, Reynolds and Baumgartner all rapped three hits on Saturday as Bluffton finished with 15 knocks in the final game of 2021. Towell, Wilson and O'Reilly chipped in with two hits apiece.
Congratulations to the Beaver Baseball team for a fantastic tournament run. Next up are the Heartland Conference post-season awards which are slated to be announced on Monday, May 24. Check the Baseball webpage next week for the All-HCAC selections and updated record books.
-BEAVERS-
