BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team was on its home field for a regular-season game for the first time since 2019 when the Beavers welcomed Albion College on Sunday, March 14, 2021. Bluffton slipped to 0-4 on the season while the Britons stand at 2-0 following the sweep.

The visitors went up 1-0 in the first but Bluffton fired back with runs in the third and fourth for a 2-1 lead heading to the fifth. Bobbi Adams (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) and Erin Norman (Pleasant Hill/Newton) laced RBI singles as the Beavers went ahead of Albion.

An inside-the-park homer for Albion down the right field line knotted the game at 2-2 in the fifth and then the Britons opened it up three more scores in the sixth courtesy of three Bluffton errors. The Beavers put two runners on in the bottom of the frame, but Albion cashed in game one with a 5-2 victory.

Adams led the Beavers with three hits and Taylor Steinke (Findlay) chipped in with a pair of safeties. Norman dropped her first decision of the season after allowing five runs, just two earned, on eight hits in six innings of work. She struck out two and walked one. 

Albion took a 1-0 lead in the second and held that advantage until the bottom of the sixth when Bluffton pushed two runs across the plate with two outs. Steinke ripped a shot down in the right field corner and motored around the bases for an inside-the-park homer that made the score 2-2. Two Albion erors allowed Marissa Auvil (North Canton/Hoover) to put the Beavers up 3-2 going to the seventh.

The Britons took advantage of an infield single and dropped fly ball in the seventh as the visitors plated two runs to re-take the lead, 3-2. Sydney Bowen (Convoy/Crestview) and Brianna Baker (Defiance/Ayersville) were on the corners in the home half when Steinke's laser to right center found an Albion glove, sealing the 3-2 Briton victory.

Adams added two more hits in game two, giving her five for the day. Birthday girl Katie McCord (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) was sensational in the circle, allowing just one run on six hits during her six innings of work. She fanned three and did not issue a free pass. Grace Fillinger (Hinckley/Highland) fell to 0-2 after allowing two runs on two hits in the seventh inning.

Bluffton will jump back into action on Tuesday, March 16, when the Beavers travel to North Manchester, Ind., for a date with the Manchester University Spartans. Game one is slated for 3:30 p.m.

-BEAVERS-