By Bill Hanefeld Jr., sports information director
March 7, 2006

KISSIMMEE, Fl. - The Bluffton University softball team (2-2) dropped a pair of contests at the Rebel Spring Games on Tuesday, March 7, 2006. Despite 10 strikeouts by senior SARAH BETTS (Bryan/Bryan), the Beavers lost a pitching duel to Wartburg, 1-0, on Tuesday morning. Wittenberg rode a fifth inning explosion to a 6-0 victory in the Beavers' second game.

GAME 1 - WARTBURG 1, BLUFFTON 0

Betts held Wartburg, which was ranked 26th in the pre-season NFCA Division III Softball Poll, to only four hits, but the Knights combined a sixth inning hit and an error to plate the lone run in the game.

Freshman RANDI YAEGER (Harrison/Harrison) rapped a first inning double for the Beavers. Sophomore SARAH NUSBAUM (Fairview) and freshman LINDSEY MILLER (Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) picked up the only other hits for Bluffton in the loss.

Betts dropped to 1-1 on the season despite striking out 10 Knights and issuing only one walk in seven innings of work.

GAME 2 - WITTENBERG 6, BLUFFTON 0

Bluffton sophomore TONYA DEAN (Kettering) took the mound for the Beavers against the Wittenberg Tigers in Bluffton's second game of the day. She helped hold Wittenberg scoreless through the first four innings of the contest, but the Tigers were unleashed in the fifth and they crossed the plate six times as Bluffton used both Dean and freshman KELLIE KENNEY (Toledo/Emmanuel Baptist) to slow them down. Wittenberg finished with seven hits for the game as it scored six runs in the victory.

Senior LINDSAY MILLER (Haviland/Wayne Trace) led Bluffton with two hits. Freshmen Yaeger and Miller finished with one hit each in the 6-0 loss to the Tigers.

Bluffton returns to action on Wednesday, March 8 when its takes on Baldwin-Wallace at 8:50 a.m. and Thiel at 12:30 p.m at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Florida.

-BEAVERS-