FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Bluffton University baseball team ran its winning streak to three games with a sweep of Baruch College on Friday, March 8, 2019. Bluffton took game one, 6-3, and capped off the night with an 8-4 victory just over 12 hours before the Beavers will kick off their final day at the Gene Cusic Classic.
A pair of balks pushed Reid Ruhl (Hamilton) across the dish for a 1-0 lead in game one. Three Baruch runs made it 3-1 midway through the fourth before a Jaxon Rogan (Marysville) sacrifice fly picked up Adam Duncan (Northwood/Lake), making it a one-run game heading to the fifth inning.
Duncan stepped to the plate with the bases juiced in the fifth and he uncorked a two-run double. Freshman Jeff Strayer (Columbus/Thomas Worthington) picked up pinch runner Dennis Szalai (LaGrange/Keystone) with a base knock before Cale Sherbourne (Johnstown/Big Walnut) capped off the inning with an RBI single that sent Duncan home for the 6-3 lead.
Duncan went 2-of-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. Starter Cam Clark (Cairo/Bath) allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits in 3.2 innings of work. He struck out two and walked two. Senior Dante D'Andrea (Westerville/North) worked 3.1 innings of shutout ball, evening his record at 1-1. D'Andrea struck out two and allowed three hits in the victory.
Following Colin Gregory's (Fremont/Clyde) fourth homer of the season, Bluffton led 2-0 midway through frame three. Baruch made it 3-2 after three, but freshman Elisha Tressler (Bryan) doubled home Rogan in the fourth for a 3-1 advantage.
The offense caught fire in the top of the seventh and the Beavers piled up five runs before the dust settled. A two-run double by Sherbourne followed by Alex Lemanski's (Miamisburg) RBI single made it 8-1. The Bearcats would not go away quietly as they scored three runs and had the bases loaded, down 8-4, but freshman Zane Martin (Ottoville) popped Baruch up to himself to end the threat while notching his first collegiate save.
Junior Parker Reynolds (Avon) went 2-of-2 with two runs scored, while Gregory also crossed the dish twice. Sherbourne drove in two runs. Carson Curnutte (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson) fanned four and walked just one while evening his season mark at 1-1.
Bluffton will tie a bow on its trip to the Sunshine State with a doubleheader against FDU-Florham on Saturday, March 9. The first pitch is slated for 9 a.m.
-BEAVERS-