By Greg Steiner, SID intern
May 9, 2002

Bluffton College senior Emily Kurtz (Wooster/Smithville H.S) and sophomore Amber Fitzwater (Dalton/Dalton H.S.) have been named to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference all-conference team.

Emily Kurtz, Bluffton's number one pitcher, led the team with an 8-9 record and 1.71 ERA. In 114.1 innings of work Kurtz struck out 78 while walking just 14 batters. Kurtz's ERA and strikeout total rank third best in a single season in BC history.

During conference play, Kurtz was 5-2 with a 1.31 ERA in seven starts. Her five victories tied her for the most wins in conference, along with her ERA being the fourth lowest in the league. Batters in the HCAC found Kurtz tough to hit only batting .187 off the senior pitcher. As a junior, Kurtz was picked as a first team All-HCAC selection as she set BC records for wins (13), innings pitched (142) and earned run average (1.28).

Playing in the outfield for Bluffton, Fitzwater started 35 of 36 games finishing the year with a batting average of .269. Within the conference, Fitzwater finished 13th in batting with an average of .357 (15-for-42) and compiled an on-base percentage of .400. She led the team in runs scored (19) and doubles (5), and finished second in total bases with 35.

Last year for BC, Fitzwater started 20 games and was fifth on the team in batting with a .299 average (20-for-67).

Bluffton College finished the season with a record of 13-22-1 (9-4-1 HCAC) and finished third in the HCAC regular season standings. BC has now finished among the conference's top four team each of their four seasons in the league. The Beavers won the HCAC tournament following the 1999 season.

-BEAVERS-