March 30, 2010
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team swept Defiance for the first time since 2003 when the Beavers manhandled the host Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, March 30, 2010. Bluffton stayed perfect in the Heartland Conference at 4-0 and 5-10 overall, while Defiance fell to 11-7 and 1-3 in the HCAC.
BLUFFTON 6, DEFIANCE 1
Bluffton set the tone right away when junior TORRIE WILSON (Delphos/Jefferson) lined SHAUNA BOWERS first offering up the middle to start game one. She stole second and came around to score on MEAGAN PRICE'S (Toledo/Springfield) base hit down the left field line. A CHELSIE OSBORNE (Chillicothe/Waverly) single up the gut put runners on the corners for BROOKE BABCOCK (Findlay) who picked up Price with her infield single. STEVIE CUTTITTA(Columbiaville, Mich./Clio) plated Osborne with a single to left before SHELBY WADE(Delaware/Buckeye Valley) made it 4-0 with her base knock to shortstop.
The Yellow Jackets took advantage of their only hit in the game when junior standout MARAH ROBINSON led off the bottom of the second with a home run over the fence in left field.
EMILY MANAHAN (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) gave the Beavers a 5-1 lead with her RBI single to center in the top of the fifth before her run-scoring groundout in the seventh plated Babcock for the final 6-1 margin.
Price, Babcock and Cuttitta all rapped two hits for the victors while Manahan drove in two late-inning runs. Babcock (3-5) was phenomenal in the circle, firing her second one-hitter in as many starts. She fanned six Yellow Jackets while facing just three batters over the minimum.
BLUFFTON 8, DEFIANCE 0 (6 INNINGS)
Bluffton saved its fireworks for the end of the second contest, but the end result was still the same in the nightcap. The Beavers went up 1-0 in the top of the second. Babcock doubled to the wall in right center to open the frame. Pinch runner ALLISON RADOMSKI(Cincinnati/Christian) moved up a base on Stevie Cuttitta's infield hit and she crossed the plate when Emily Manahan ripped a single to center field.
Shelby Wade gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in the fifth with her RBI single down the left field line which plated TIFFANY BUCKMASTER (Lima/Bath). It all came undone for the Yellow Jackets an inning later when Bluffton pushed six runs across the dish. Osborne started the rally with a two-bagger to center. Babcock's single through the right side put runners at the corners for McDonald who singled home Osborne. Manahan followed with a single through the left side which loaded the bases. JAYME MARBAUGH (Ohio City/Parkway) drove in Babcock with her shot to third base which Defiance was unable to handle. Bluffton added another run when Defiance committed its second error in as many chances before Price delivered the knockout blow, a three-run triple to the wall in right center which cleared the bases and made it 8-0.
Stevie Cuttitta (1-4) picked up her first win of the season while tossing a four-hit shutout against a potent Defiance offense. She struck out two and walked four in a six-inning mercy-rule blanking of the Jackets. Price drove in three runs while Manahan was a perfect 3-of-3 at the plate with one RBI.
The Beavers will look to add to their current four-game winning streak when they travel to Kenyon College for a pair of games on Friday, April 2, 2010. The first contest is slated for 4 p.m. in Gambier, Ohio.
-BEAVERS-