LEESBURG, Fla. - The Bluffton University softball team gave undefeated Allegheny (8-0) all it wanted in a 9-7 loss to the Gators before dropping a 9-5 decision to Rivier on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Bluffton fell to 0-8 heading into the final Florida games against Concordia-Chicago and Carthage on Friday.
Mia McCartney (North Baltimore) singled home Kaylee Grant (Lima/Shawnee) and Julia Tegeder (Hamilton) in the first, but Allegheny went up 7-2 after three innings thanks to five unearned runs.
Tegeder's two-run base knock in the fourth picked up Elizabeth Crites (Findlay) and Emily Hope (Enon/Greenon), maing it a three-run game.
Trailing 9-4 in the seventh, the Beavers put on their rally caps and came up with three tallies as McCartney singled home Tegeder before she and Halee McDade (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) crossed the dish thanks to a dropped popup by Allegheny, but the Gators held on for a 9-7 victory on Thursday.
Katie Fleshman (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) fell to 0-4 after allowing nine runs, just four earned, on 10 hits in 5.2 innings of work. She walked six and struck out one. Madelynn Vickers (Oakwood/Kettering) tossed 1.1 shutout frames with one strikeout.
McCartney went 2-of-4 with three RBI, while Tegeder was 1-of-3 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Rivier led 3-0 heading to the third inning of game two when the Bluffton offense exploded with five runs! Run-scoring singles by McCartney, Grant, Hayley Lewis (Kettering/Fairmont) and Kayleigh Michael (Eaton/National Trail) made it 5-3 in favor of the good girls.
The Raiders responded with four in the fourth and an insurance tally in the fifth en route to a 9-5 victory over the Beavers.
Lewis slipped to 0-3 after giving up six runs, but just one earned, on seven hits in 4.2 innings of relief. She walked two and struck out two. Vickers surrendered three runs on five hits in 1.1 innings on the bump.
Michael went 2-of-4 with two RBI and Tegeder smacked two base hits.
Bluffton will wrap up its week in Florida with a pair of games at Sleepy Hollow on Friday. The Beavers kick off their final day with Concorida-Chicago at 10 a.m. and Carthage at 12:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
