TIFFIN, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team played solid defense and pitched it well, but the offense struggled to put runs on the board in a sweep by host Heidelberg University on a sunny Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Bluffton fell to 1-11 on the season, while Heidelberg upped its mark to 5-7 overall.

Gabbie Stallbaum broke a scoreless tie with her three-run shot in the bottom of the third inning. Bluffton cut into its deficit with an Emily Hope (Enon/Greenon) RBI single in the fourth. Hope picked up junior Mia McCartney (North Baltimore) and then McCartney made it 3-2 an inning later when her single up the middle plated Elizabeth Crites (Findlay).

Bluffton stranded nine runners and out-hit Heidelberg 9-7, but the Student Princes tacked on solo tallies in the fifth and sixth for a 5-2 win in game one.

Julia Tegeder (Hamilton) and Hope both smacked two hits for the Beavers. Junior Hayley Lewis (Kettering/Fairmont) slipped to 0-4, allowing five runs on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout in a complete-game effort.

The Berg built a 4-0 lead through inning five of the nightcap, tossing a perfect game until freshman pinch hitter Halee McDade (Oxford/Talawanda) worked a two-out walk in the sixth. The no-hitter went by the wayside one batter later when Tegeder singled to left. Bluffton managed just one more hit in the seventh, a Kaylee Grant (Lima/Shawnee) single up the middle, as Heidelberg capped off its sweep with a 4-0 shutout.

Senior Katie Fleshman (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work. She dipped to 0-6 on the season.

Bluffton heads to Oberlin College for a non-conference doubleheader with the Yeowomen on Sunday, March 17. Game one is slated for 1 p.m.

-BEAVERS-