After off-season knee surgery which moved the 2008 HCAC MVP from shortstop to second base for her final campaign, Lindsey Miller picked up right where she left off last year. The top hitter in Bluffton softball history topped the conference with a .458 batting average, a 507 on-base percentage, 46 RBI and a school-record 60 hits. She blistered Heartland Conference pitching to the tune of a .562 batting average, .618 on-base percentage and 22 RBI which were all best in the HCAC. Miller's .458 batting average and .687 slugging percentage place her third all-time in the single season record book behind Allison Lange's 2004 school records and behind her own numbers from a year ago. Her 60 hits broke Mollie Brown's school record of 57 safeties in 2008 when she (54 hits) and Brown both eclipsed Lange's 2004 standard of 48 hits. For the second consecutive year, Miller established a new mark for RBI with 46 after driving home 45 runs in 2008. The slugger pounded out seven dingers this year after blasting a school-record 11 bombs as a junior.

 

Miller walked away from the Beavers as the most prolific hitter in Bluffton softball history despite dealing with injuries throughout most of her career. She finished her four years with a .401 batting average, 46 points higher than Lange's former record of .355 which is also Marbaugh's current average with one season to play. Her career records also include: slugging percentage (.615), games played and started (143), at bats (426), hits (171), home runs (20), RBI (110) and total bases (262). She is also in the top 10 on Bluffton's career list in: on-base percentage (.450), runs (71), doubles (29) and walks (37). During her final two years at Bluffton, Miller was named HCAC Softball Hitter of the Week four times, Female Athlete of the Month three times in four months and recently she took home Bluffton's Senior Athlete of the Year award.

 

Junior Brooke Babcock continued her outstanding work in the circle while showing marked improvement at the plate this season. She was again selected first team all-conference after posting a 15-7 mark for the Beavers. Babcock finished the year in the top 10 all-time for a single season in: earned run average (1.89), opponent batting average (.210), fewest walks per seven innings (1.26), most strikeouts per seven innings (7.19), wins (15), appearances (26), games started (19), strikeouts (137) and innings pitched (133.1). She was also near the top of the HCAC in all of those categories.

 

At the dish, Babcock saw her average up nearly 50 points from a year ago as she hit .318 with 41 hits, 32 RBI and five homers for a .519 slugging percentage (ninth best all-time at Bluffton). Her 41 hits places her ninth on the single-season list at Bluffton while her 11 doubles tied her for fifth. Babcock's five home runs equaled Allison Lange for third on the all-time list behind only Lindsey Miller who hit 11 and seven the last two years. She is in position to move past Miller on the career list next year for: games played (116), games started (115), at bats (360), doubles (23), and RBI (81). She and Lange are tied for second on the career home run list with 10 as she trails only Miller's 20 long balls.  

 

Providing Bluffton with stellar play at the hot corner, junior Jayme Marbaugh was named first team All-HCAC for the second straight year. Marbaugh, who was second on the team with a .385 batting average, led the HCAC with 39 runs and she was also in the top five of the conference in hits (52), stolen bases (11), sacrifice bunts (9) and total bases (72). Her slugging percentage (.533), runs scored (39), hits (52), doubles (10) and total bases all place her in the top 10 all-time in the single season record book. The standout third baseman turned difficult plays into routine ones and she made a living cutting down lead runners in sacrifice situations.

 

Marbaugh is tied with Lange for the second-best career batting average in Bluffton history at .355. She is third all-time in slugging percentage (.488). With one more season to play, Marbaugh has a legitimate chance to move to the top of Bluffton's career record book for: at bats (344), runs (81), hits (122), doubles (27) and RBI (72).

 

Senior Kellie Kenney was recognized on the All-HCAC Second Team by the conference coaches after finishing an outstanding career with the Beavers. She hit .280 with two home runs, 23 RBI, seven doubles and 12 runs scored this season. Kenney continued to improve in the circle, ending her final season at Bluffton with a 2.38 earned run average and .236 opponent batting average while striking out 55 batters and walking just 21 in 94 innings of work. She was 10-4 in 2009 after going 12-4 as a junior.

 

Kenney departs Bluffton in the top 10 all-time for the following career categories: earned run average (2.81), opponent batting average (.251), fewest walks per seven innings (2.29), most strikeouts per seven innings (4.21), wins (34), appearances (76), games started (59), complete games (34), innings pitched (370.2), strikeouts (223) and she is tied for second with nine shutouts. She became a fixture in the middle of Bluffton's lineup the last two seasons and leaves the Beavers with the record for being hit by the most pitches with 12. Kenney is third all-time with 46 walks and sixth on the career list at Bluffton with 57 RBI.

 

Bluffton freshman Chelsie Osborne got off to a hot start in Florida and never looked back, providing Bluffton with solid defense at shortstop and hitting at a .346 clip during her first season of collegiate softball. She pounded out 46 hits, the sixth highest single-season total in Bluffton history, and drove in 32 runs which tied her for fourth in the HCAC with Brooke Babcock. She led the league with 13 stolen bases and 10 sacrifice bunts on her way to being named honorable mention All-HCAC.

 

Bluffton established a new school record with 30 wins, breaking the previous mark of 26 set in 2004. Coach Bruder led the Beavers to the conference tournament for the third consecutive season and Bluffton won its first post-season game since it went to the four-team format three years ago.