By: Colton Steiner
BLUFFTON, Ohio - On a windy day on Memorial Field, the Bluffton Beavers would play host to the Hiram College Terriers in a game that went back and forth. Down 5-0, the Beavers cut the gap and tied the contest before taking the lead in the fifth. The Terriers would even up the contest and the game would end up going into extra innings, where neither team would come away victorious as it capped off with a 12-12 tie due to the game being called to darkness. The tie moves Bluffton to an overall record of 5-23-1 while Hiram will sit at 10-12-1 going into their next contest.
After the Terriers scored five runs in the first inning, the two teams went two innings without scoring a run until the fourth when an Aaron Archer (Bowling Green) RBI single would get the Beavers on the board, cutting the deficit to 5-1. The rally would continue as a one-run single from Drew Snipes (Pickerington/North) and an RBI from Tyler Forest (Harrison/LaSalle) pulled them within two runs. Bluffton would score one more run in the inning after Trey Pipenger (Richmond, Ind.) picked up Archer with a single to shortstop, making the score 5-4.
After a Hiram run in the fifth, the Beavers would rally with six runs in the fifth. Jake Baumgartner (Toledo/Start) capped off the inning with a three-run double down the right field line, giving Bluffton a 10-6 advantage. Despite the four-run lead, a run in the top of the sixth, followed by a double that brought home three runs in the seventh, the contest would be tied going into the ninth.
Following a scoreless ninth, the game would go into extras where the visitors would score a pair of runs to take a 12-10. Down two, the Beavers would have bases loaded and bring the deficit within one after a hit by pitch plated Ayden Spriggs (North Lewisburg/Triad). With bases loaded and only one out, a grounder to second forced Aaron Archer but Nolan Guy (Hortense, Ga./Brantley County) was able to score after Drew Snipes beat out the throw to first, avoiding the double play and evening the game up at 12-12. After Tyler Forest hit a ground ball to third, the throw just beat him as the game ended in a tie due to darkness.
Justin Maurer (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) had a great day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two runs just a few hours after being named the Outstanding Senior Male Athlete at Bluffton! Scoring twice and smacking a pair of hits was Aaron Archer. Archer, Drew Snipes and Jake Baumgartner all drove in three runs on Tuesday.
Six different Beavers would see action on the hill, with Alexander James (Vandalia/Butler) recording a team-high three strikeouts in 2.2 innings while allowing four runs off five hits. Deegan Yutzy (Mogodore/Field) tossed two innings, allowing two runs on one hit to go along with a pair of strikeouts.
Bluffton will have two days off before returning to the field on Good Friday, April 18, when the Beavers host the Berea College Mountaineers in a doubleheader that's set to start at 1 p.m.
-BEAVERS-