Senior Brooke Babcock capped off her superb career at Bluffton with her third consecutive first team All-Heartland Conference selection. She was the Beavers' ace for the past four seasons, guiding her team into the four-team Heartland Conference tournament each year. Babcock went 10-12 on the season with 79 strikeouts which tied her for 10th place all-time. The senior captain started 18 games and pitched 111.0 innings while tossing three shutouts with a pair of one-hitters this season. She made 25 appearances and limited the opposition to a .238 batting average.

 

At the plate, Babcock had her finest season in 2010. She hit .333 with 11 doubles (tied for 5th all-time) and two home runs. Babcock drove in 20 runs, scored 14 times and finished the season with a team-high .491 slugging percentage.

 

For her career, Babcock leaves Bluffton ranked in the top five all-time for all major pitching categories. She is second to only Sarah Betts, Bluffton's Female Athlete of the Decade, with 43 wins, 98 appearances, 74 games started, 483.2 innings pitched and 401 strikeouts. Babcock is also second with just 1.82 walks per seven innings.

 

In addition, she finished near the top of the career record books with a .239 opponent batting average, 5.80 strikeouts per seven innings, 2.65 earned run average, 48 complete games and eight shutouts. Babcock played 155 games (1st all-time) and started 150 (tied for 1st all-time with fellow senior Jayme Marbaugh). She tops Bluffton all-time with 461 at bats and ranks second with 12 home runs, 101 RBI and 34 two-baggers. Babcock also finished her career in the top 15 all-time with 141 hits, .301 batting average, .451 slugging percentage, 52 runs scored, 211 total bases, 27 walks and five sacrifice flies.

 

Emily Manahan was rewarded for her outstanding play at first base in 2010. The sophomore picked up her first All-Heartland Conference honor after a campaign in which she led the Beavers with a .343 batting average and 271 putouts. Manahan tied for second on the team with 37 hits and she finished third with 18 runs scored. In addition, Manahan had six doubles, one home run, 16 RBI and a team-high .408 on-base percentage thanks to her keen eye at the plate (10 walks). She finished with a .426 slugging percentage while starting each game for the second straight season.

 

Her 279 chances and 271 putouts were both fourth all-time for a single season and she is already fourth all-time with 547 career putouts. Manahan is currently third all-time at Bluffton with a .986 fielding percentage.

 

Although Jayme Marbaugh struggled at the plate early in the season, she once again showed that she had no equal at the hot corner. Her 85 assists were just nine shy of shortstop Chelsie Osborne as Bluffton's left side of the infield made unbelievable plays look routine. Marbaugh's 85 assists places her eighth all-time for a single season. After a slow start at the dish, Marbaugh picked it up heading into the tournament as she finished with a .252 batting average and team-high 22 RBI. She led the Beavers with five home runs and hit six doubles for a .449 slugging percentage. Marbaugh also tied for team-high honors with eight sacrifice bunts.

 

Marbaugh, a first team selection as sophomore and a junior, finished her career at Bluffton fourth all-time with a .330 batting average and third with a .479 slugging percentage. She is second to Babcock with 150 games played, but she is tied with Brooke after starting in all 150 games. Marbaugh's 451 at bats is also second to only Babcock. She ended her career with 98 runs (2nd all-time), 149 hits (2nd all-time), 10 home runs (tied for 3rd all-time), 94 RBI (3rd all-time), 216 total bases (3rd all-time) and 33 doubles (3rd all-time). In the field, Marbaugh had 648 chances (2nd all-time) and 334 assists (2nd all-time). Her 271 career putouts placed her 12th all-time for the Beavers.

 

Freshman hurler Stevie Cuttitta solidified Bluffton's pitching rotation, ending her initial campaign with a team-low 2.46 earned run average. Cuttitta started 17 games and finished the season with a 7-6 mark in 25 appearances. She tossed six complete games and had three shutouts to her credit. Cuttitta pitched 108.1 innings, struck out 35 batters and allowed just 20 free passes. In addition, she picked up one save for the Beavers.

 

Chelsie Osborne, who started each game for the second straight season, led the Beavers with 39 hits. The standout shortstop tallied 17 RBI and scored 21 runs, second-best on the team. She was 12-of-13 on stolen base attempts and finished with a .364 slugging percentage, three doubles and three triples. Her 12 thefts placed her fourth in the conference this season. She had a team-high 96 assists and tallied 74 putouts. Osborne is currently 8th all time with a .321 career batting average. After just two years, Osborne already ranks 15th with 48 runs, 17th with 85 hits, 10th with 49 RBI and 7th with 25 stolen bases.

Coach Bruder led the Beavers to the conference tournament for the fourth consecutive season and Bluffton won its first round game for the first time since the HCAC went to a four-team format four years ago.