April 17, 2016
By: Colton Steiner, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - With warm weather and sunny skies, the Bluffton University softball team hosted the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers and were able to pick up their first wins in conference play. A 5-0 shutout in game one and a 4-0 victory in game two pushed the Beavers to 14-16 (2-6 HCAC) while the Engineers dropped to 10-12 (1-5 HCAC) on the season.
After a quiet two innings to start game one, Bluffton was the first to get on the board after a double by JOSIE MCELROY (Mt. Orab/Western Brown) scored MAKENZIE SCHMIDT (Caledonia/River Valley) from second. The Beavers kicked it into high gear with three more runs in the inning when JESSIE MADZIA (Massillon/Tuslaw) crushed a 3-run bomb off the scoreboard to make it a 4-0 ballgame. Solid defense was key as Bluffton held Rose-Hulman to only three hits over the last four innings. The Beavers tacked on one more run in the sixth inning when CHELSEA ZOLTOWSKI(Sylvania/Southview) came all the way around from first on KELSI WILSON'S (Pataskala/Licking Heights) double to left field en route to the 5-0 win.
Leading the charge in game one was Jessie Madzia who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, connecting for her fourth dinger of the season. Also coming up big for Bluffton was Josie McElroy and Kelsi Wilson who each notched an RBI.
On the mound was NICOLE THOMAS (Tontogany/Otsego) who improved to 3-3 on the season and allowed a total of only four hits on 85 pitches just one day after nearly tossing a no-hitter against Mount St. Joseph!
The Beavers jumped out to a quick start in game two with Makenzie Schmidt getting a leadoff single. Schmidt scored on a fielder's choice which put Bluffton up, 1-0. The next four innings were quiet for both teams until the fifth when the Beavers got hot with the bats. Singles by Kelsi Wilson, Makenzie Schmidt and KELSEY REEDER (Galion/Northmor) loaded the bases with two outs in the inning. Two runs crossed the plate on a Josie McElroy single, increasing Bluffton's lead to 3-0. Jessie Madzia squeezed a single through the left side to score Reeder for the final run of the ballgame as they marched their way to a 4-0 victory.
Makenzie Schmidt led the offense with a game-high three hits. Josie McElroy and Kelsi Wilson each collected two hits and Jessie Madzia had two RBI in the outing, giving her five for the afternoon.
Jessie Madzia allowed no runs on six hits as she improved to 4-7 on the year. She did not issue a free pass.
Bluffton will look to keep its streak alive as the Beavers host Anderson on Tuesday, April 19, with a 3 PM start time. Come out and support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-