March 29, 2007
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team could not overcome nine errors against the Polar Bears as Ohio Northern picked up a sweep over the Beavers on Thursday, March 29, 2007. Ohio Northern's ERIN KENNY tossed her third consecutive shutout in a 6-0 victory in the first game. The bats came alive in the second contest, however, the end result was the same. The Polar Bears completed the sweep with a 12-7 win in the nightcap. Bluffton now stands at 4-4 while Ohio Northern improved to 12-4 on the season.
GAME 1 - OHIO NORTHERN 6, BLUFFTON 0
After two strikeouts to open the third inning, Ohio Northern broke the ice when the top of the lineup came up for the second time in the opener. Consecutive singles and a walk to LYNDA THOMAS loaded the bases for first baseman MATTI MCFARLIN who ripped a two-run single to left field.
With the bases again loaded for McFarlin in the top of the fifth, she did not disappoint the Northern faithful, driving in two more runs with a base-hit down the left field line.
Thomas capped the scoring when she drove a two-run homer to right center in the seventh inning, making the final score 6-0 in favor of the visitors from Ada.
Bluffton mustered only four hits against Kenny, all after the fourth inning, but the Beavers had their seventh-inning rally cut short by a double play
KELLIE KENNEY (Toledo/Emmanuel Baptist) took the loss despite striking out six Polar Bears in her six innings of work. She gave up seven hits and walked only one batter while falling to 3-2 on the year.
TINA MAGNOLA went 3-of-4 with two runs scored and McFarlin was 2-of-4 at the plate with 4 RBI's in the opener. Leadoff hitter AMANDA FOUGHT scored three runs in the victory.
GAME 2 - OHIO NORTHERN 12, BLUFFTON 7
Ohio Northern wasted no time finding the scoreboard in the second contest. Following a Magnola single in the first, McFarlin launched a two-run dinger to straightaway center field.
Bluffton knotted the contest in the top of the second when LINDSEY MILLER(Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) reached on an infield error. A CARRIE WEISBECKER(Okeana/Ross) single and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs. Two strikeouts later, KATIE AMMONS (Findlay/Findlay) singled to center, plating both Miller and Weisbecker.
The bottom of the lineup came up big for the Polar Bears in the bottom of the second. Back-to-back doubles by LIZ DECIMA and CORTNEY CASH, followed by a LISA GOLTRY single and KACEY SMITH triple, put Northern back on top by three runs, 5-2.
Weisbecker crossed the plate in the top of the fourth following an Ammons single to close the gap to two runs.
A pair of Bluffton errors in the bottom of the fifth led to four runs, three unearned, for the Polar Bears who pushed their lead to 9-3 after five innings of play.
The Beavers were unfazed by the six-run deficit and they crossed the plate four times in the top of the sixth. Weisbecker opened the inning with a single and she moved to second when the Polar Bears failed to force her out on LAURA BROWN'S (Sullivan/Black River) fielder's choice. Kenney picked up Weisbecker when she scalded a double into the right-center field gap. Ammons drove Brown in before her steal of second allowed Kenney to cross the plate. Following a walk to Babcock and her subsequent steal of second, Ammons took home to close the gap to two runs.
A McFarlin RBI single and two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth proved to be too much for the Beavers to overcome as the Polar Bears took game two by a final score of 12-7.
Ammons was a perfect 4-of-4 with four singles and three RBI's. Weisbecker finshed the second game with three hits and three runs scored.
Babcock took the loss and fell to 1-2 as the Polar Bears scored 12 runs, seven earned, on 13 hits. She did not walk a batter during her six innings of work.
Polar Bear standout Matti McFarlin, who entered the contests with a .563 batting average, finished the twin-bill with four hits in eight at-bats. She drove in seven runs and scored three times.
Bluffton opens HCAC action on Saturday, March 31, when it travels to Rose-Hulman for a 1 p.m. doubleheader with the Engineers.