March 25, 2011

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The  Bluffton University baseball team was unable to generate any offense in a 7-0 loss to Mount St. Joseph on Friday, March 25, 2011. The Beavers dipped to 7-8 overall and 0-1 in the Heartland Conference, while MSJ improved to 8-7 and 1-0 in the HCAC.

Following three scoreless innings to open the game, Mount St. Joseph sandwiched single runs in the fourth and sixth frames around a three-spot in the fifth inning. Three singles, a Bluffton throwing error and a Ben Stroube RBI-double to right center added up to a 4-0 lead after five frames.

The Mount tacked on a pair of insurance tallies in the eighth thanks to a Beaver miscue, three base hits and a sacrifice bunt, giving MSJ a 7-0 shutout in the conference opener for both teams.

Bluffton managed just four singles while the home team finished with 11 hits, including a pair of doubles and one triple. Junior Ryan Leugers (Botkins) fell to 1-2 after giving up seven runs on 11 hits in 7.1 innings of work. Ben Hunterman (2-3) tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout, going all nine innings for the victory.

The Beavers and Lions meet on Saturday, March 26 for the completion of the series with a pair of contests at the University of Cincinnati. The first game is slated for 12 p.m.

-BEAVERS-