March 28, 2007
TIFFIN, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team showed no signs of rust following a week with no games as it made the short trip to Tiffin and held the Student Princes to a single run in a pair of victories over Heidelberg on a cold and rainy Wednesday, March 28, 2007. The Beavers took game one by a final score of 4-1 behind the pitching of KELLIE KENNEY(Toledo/Emmanuel Baptist). In the nightcap, the Bluffton bats came alive in a six-inning 10-0 victory with freshman BROOKE BABCOCK (Findlay/Findlay) in the circle.
GAME 1 - BLUFFTON 4, HEIDELBERG 1
After four scoreless innings, GRETCHEN HANDLEY (Ashland/Ashland) drew a one-out walk in the top of the fifth. Sophomore captain LINDSEY MILLER (Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) made the Student Princes pay with her two-run dinger.
JAYME MARBAUGH (Ohio City/Parkway) reached on an infield error with one out in the sixth inning. She moved to second on a KATIE AMMONS (Findlay/Findlay) groundout before Brooke Babcock picked her up with the Beavers' second homer of the game, making the score 4-0.
In the bottom of the sixth, Heidelberg used a base on balls and a pair of singles to plate its only run of the game.
Kenney dominated the Heidelberg hitters, striking out 11 and walking only one while limiting the Student Princes to four hits in the opening contest. She improved to 3-1 with the victory
Bluffton picked up only two hits, but both were home runs, the first preceded by a walk and the second by an error as the Beavers won the opener, 4-1.
GAME 2 - BLUFFTON 10, HEIDELBERG 0 (6 INNINGS)
Both teams struggled to string together hits in the second contest until the Beavers' bats got uncorked for six hits and five runs in the fourth frame. Babcock led off the inning with a double and was replaced at second by pinch runner ANDREA WOZNIAK (Port Clinton/Port Clinton). Following a JENNA MAYER (Lima/Shawnee) single, Gretchen Handley plated Wozniak with a single of her own. A wild pitch moved both Handley and Mayer into scoring position for Lindsey Miller who drove a sacrifice fly to left field, making the score 2-0. Senior captain CARRIE WEISBECKER (Okeana/Ross) cleared the bases with a two-run shot giving the Beavers a four-run lead. Brown promptly doubled and raced home on a Jayme Marbaugh RBI single.
The Beavers ripped three consecutive singles to start the sixth inning before Marbaugh popped into a double play to third base. Bluffton again loaded the bases when Ammons took advantage of a Heidelberg error. A Babcock single plated Laura Brown and Jenna Mayer delivered the knockout blow, a grand slam which put the game out of reach, 10-0, midway through the sixth.
Babcock shut the Student Princes down in the bottom half of the inning as the Beavers picked up their first sweep of the season. She was masterful on the mound, striking out nine batters, walking two and holding Heidelberg to only three hits while improving to 1-1 for the year.
Bluffton exploded for 16 hits and 10 runs in the rout at Heidelberg. Marbaugh and Weisbecker both led the attack with three hits apiece. Mayer, Babcock and Brown all ripped two hits in the victory. Mayer drove in four runs and she and Brown both crossed the plate two times.
Bluffton returns to action on Thursday, March 29, 2007, when it hosts local rival Ohio Northern at 3:15 p.m. in a doubleheader that was just added to the Beavers' schedule.