By: Ethan Stearns, sports information assistant
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Bluffton University baseball team took a slugfest with Hiram College on Friday, March 10, 2023, winning 11-8. The Beavers improved to 3-4 on the year and will finish up their spring break with two more games on Saturday.
With 19 total runs scored in the game, there were plenty of hits to go around. Bluffton jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead through the first three innings. The floodgates opened up in the first when Jack Towell (Batavia/West Clermont) singled to right center which allowed Jake Baumgartner (Toledo/Start) to cross the plate.
A couple of sacrifice flies at the bottom of the first and second innings from Ezra Deitering (Ottawa/Miller City) and Kenny Schneider (Sunbury/Big Walnut) put Bluffton up 3-0. Schneider would score another runner in the bottom of the third, shooting a single through the right side to push Towell home.
A base knock from Baumgartner and a Towell two-bagger added two more tallies to the Beaver scoring column, giving Bluffton a 6-1 lead going into the fifth.
Hiram caught fire in the top of the fifth frame, going off for six runs while stealing a 7-6 lead. The Beavers responded aggressively in the sixth inning, putting up three runs from a Baumgartner run-scoring double and two RBI singles launched into left field by Justin Maurer (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) and Seth Altman (Hilliard/Hilliard Davison). Bluffton took a 9-7 lead into the final three innings.
The bottom of the seventh would see Bluffton score two more times. Adam Yoh (Milford) sprinted across the plate thanks to a Hiram error and Towell added to his impressive performance with a base hit to the left. After allowing only one more run from Hiram in the final inning, Bluffton walked away with the 11-8 victory.
Towell had an amazing day, going 4-of-5 with the bat in his hands and driving in three runs! Baumgartner and Schneider each added two RBI apiece. Deitering, Maurer, and Altman also plated runs in an exciting game with plenty of scoring.
Jacob Boelkens (Millbury/Lake) pitched 4.2 innings, striking out three batters while allowing seven runs on 11 hits. Darius Boeke (Sidney) grabbed his first win of the season (1-0), tossing 3.1 innings of shutout ball while allowing just two hits! Towell closed it out with a one-run ninth.
Bluffton will finish up its Florida slate with two games against North Central (Minnesota) and Muskingum University on Saturday, March 11, with the first game against North Central estimated to start at 9 a.m.
-BEAVERS-