April 17, 2007
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team ran into a hot Manchester College team that pounded out 30 hits en route to a pair of convincing victories on Tuesday, April 17, 2007. The Spartans took the first game 11-3 and followed that with a 13-4 victory over the Beavers. Bluffton fell to 1-10, 1-9 in the HCAC, while Manchester improved to 14-11, with a 7-3 mark in the Heartland Conference.
GAME ONE - MANCHESTER 11, BLUFFTON 3
COREY CONN (London/London) scored the first run of the game in the second inning when he drew a leadoff walk and moved up a base on CODY MCPHERSON'S (Northwood/Lake) sacrifice bunt. GREG SIGG (Maumee/Maumee) reached on an infield error, putting runners at first and second with one outs for BRETT HUNT (Bucyrus/Bucyrus) who picked up Sigg with his single through the right side.
After Manchester tied the game with a run in the bottom of the second, the Beavers reclaimed the lead in the top of the third. TONY MOORE (Elida/Elida) opened the inning with a single to right. After RYAN BAIGHTEL (Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) was with a high hard one while squaring to bunt, TIM KAY (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity) moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. A groundball to the shortstop by CURTIS SCHROEDER(Shelby/Shelby) plated Moore and the Beavers were back on top by a run.
The proverbial wheels fell off in the bottom of the third when ZAC BIRELEY and MATTY MILLER drew walks to open the frame. Consecutive bunt singles pushed Bireley across the dish and left the bases loaded with no outs. A KAZ KALITA single to right plated Miller and MATT TALARICO'S RBI single up the middle made the score 4-2. A JOSH BUELL sacrifice fly to left scored JORDAN ADAMS and set the stage for a three-run SCOTT TARNOWSKI homer to left center for an 8-2 lead after four innings.
The Beavers scored an unearned run in the seventh, but Manchester was too much as the Spartans took game one by a final score of 11-3.
JAMES HAUSMAN (Milford/Milford) took the loss for the Beavers, giving up 10 runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work on the hill. Moore went 3-of-5 at the plate with one run scored. McPherson finished the contest 2-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt.
GAME TWO - MANCHESTER 13, BLUFFTON 4
Manchester scored in each frame of the second game except the fourth inning in punishing the Beavers by a final count of 13-4 on 18 hits.
Down by four runs midway through the third inning, Bluffton crossed the plate twice in the home half to cut into the Spartans' lead. Baightel opened the inning with a triple to right and scored on Tony Moore's RBI single to center. Following a Brett Hunt base knock, Kay picked up Moore with his single to left center.
After STEVE ROBERTS (West Salem/Mapleton) shut down Manchester in the fourth, the Beavers put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning. CHRIS WURM(Bucyrus/Bucyrus) drew a free pass and Baightel's two-bagger to right center left both Beavers in scoring position for Moore who promptly drilled a single to right for two RBI.
DEREK HANSON took over on the mound for the Spartans in the fifth inning and he held Bluffton to only three hits and no runs over the final five innings of the second game.
The Spartans continued their torrid ways at the dish, racking up nine runs after Bluffton's final score for a 13-4 victory over the Beavers.
Baightel and Kay both led the Beavers with three hits apiece while Hunt and Moore chipped in with two each. Moore drove in three runs and Baightel scored twice in the loss to the Spartans. For the day, Moore was 5-of-10 at the plate with 3 RBI and two runs scored.
Roberts (0-1) took the loss, giving up five runs on 10 hits in 4.0 innings of work.
Bluffton returns to action on Friday, April 20, 2007, when it travels to Hanover for a Heartland Conference matchup with the Panthers. The contest is slated for 4 p.m. and it will be followed by a doubleheader at Hanover on Saturday, April 21.