By: Ethan Stearns, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team won the first game of a doubleheader against Albion College (9-8) and led 10-3 in the second matchup before it was halted due to impending darkness on Monday, March 20. Game two will resume on Monday, April 10, when the Beavers travel to Albion College. Bluffton improved to 5-5 on the season while Albion fell to 1-11.
The first match of the back-to-back proved to be a very exciting comeback win for the Beavers. The home team fell behind early, allowing four unanswered runs through the first three innings.
The fourth is where Bluffton got things rolling. Grant Hovest (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) was able to cross the dish first as he reached on a dropped popup when the left side of the Albion infield had a communication breakdown. Jake Baumgartner (Toledo/Start) stepped up and slapped a two-run single to right field, driving in Nick Diana (Batavia/West Clermont) and Adam Yoh (Milford) and making the score 4-3 heading to the fifth.
After allowing an Albion run in the sixth and three more in the seventh, Bluffton went into inning eight down by five runs, 8-3. A scoring barrage of six tallies in the eighth would turn the game on its head. Senior Jack Towell (Batavia/West Clermont) started the rally, driving home Ezra Deitering (Ottawa/Miller City) and Yoh with a single through the right side. Justin Maurer (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) made it 8-6 with his missile through the left side.
Austin Francis (Troy/Miami East) plated Towell with his base knock up the middle. Freshman Kaden Bowman (Hilliard/Davidson) capped off the splurge with what turned out to be the game-winning double, making it 9-8 when Francis and Maurer scurried home.
Baumgartner, Towell, and Bowman were all on fire with the bat, driving in two runs apiece. Jake Shaver (New London) notched the victory (1-1), allowing only one run on two hits during his two innings on the mound. Darius Boeke (Sidney) cleaned things up and got the save, pitching a shutout ninth inning while striking out two batters.
The second game would be much less of a fight with the Beavers going up 10-3 before play was paused due to darkness. There was a lot of heavy hitting for the home squad as eight of the 10 runs were scored off of homers.
The first three runs would come from a Towell bomb to straightaway center that scored Baumgartner and Diana.
Deitering got in on the action in the fourth with a two-run dinger of his own, plating Nathaniel DeWeese (Columbus/Hilliard Davidson) in the process. Three batters later, Towell would repeat history as he slugged yet another three-run shot, this time to left center.
Bluffton scored two more runs in the sixth inning before the game was halted. Mauer brought in Baumgartner after hitting a deep ball and then hopping on his high horse for a triple. Mauer would then cross the plate following a sacrifice fly from Francis. Bluffton will take a 10-3 lead into the resumed game.
Towell was scorching on Monday afternoon, going 2-of-4 in game two with two dingers and six RBI. Deitering plated two runs with his home run.
Jacob Boelkens (Milbury/Lake) tossed five innings, allowing only two runs while striking out six batters. Junior Seth Altman (Hilliard/Davidson) pitched the sixth, allowing one run with one strikeout.
Bluffton jumps right back into action on Tuesday, March 21, with a trip to Westerville. The Beavers will tee it up for a single nine-inning game with Otterbein at 4 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
