March 14, 2008
GREENFIELD, Ind. - The Bluffton University softball team traveled to Greenfield Central High School on Thursday, March 13, for a doubleheader with Indiana Tech. The Beavers pounded the Warriors 10-1 in the opener, but Indiana Tech recovered for an 8-7 eight-inning victory over Bluffton in the nightcap. The Beavers are now 6-6 on the season while Indiana Tech (1-3) picked up its first victory of the year as the Warriors departed for their spring trip to Florida.
Bluffton 10, Indiana Tech 1 (5 innings)
MONIQUE CROWE put Indiana Tech on the scoreboard in the first frame when her fly ball turned into a three-base error. An overthrow at third made the score 1-0 after just one batter. Two outs later BRITTANY MILLER singled up the middle for what turned out to be the Warriors only hit of the game. A ground ball to second base ended the threat and brought the Beavers to the plate in the bottom of the first.
Bluffton wasted no time answering the call. TIFFANY BUCKMASTER (Lima/Bath) opened with a single and she moved to third when Indiana Tech failed to get an out on MOLLIE BROWN'S(Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) attempted sacrifice bunt. JAYME MARBAUGH (Ohio City/Parkway) put down a perfect squeeze to plate Buckmaster and move Brown to third base. With one out and the game knotted, junior shortstop LINDSEY MILLER(Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) christened the newly-minted Blue Monster in left field with a towering 250-foot shot that sailed over the 16-foot wall for a 3-1 Bluffton lead.
The Beavers tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the second despite only two hits in the inning. AMANDA HARRIS (Arcanum/Arcanum) drew a walk to open the inning. Pinch runner TORRIE WILSON (Delphos Jefferson) went to second when the Warriors failed to make a play on GRETCHEN HANDLEY'S (Ashland/Ashland) bunt. Following an Indiana Tech pitching change, Buckmaster loaded the bases with another bunt. Brown's base hit sent Wilson across the plate before Handley and Buckmaster scored on Marbaugh's fielder's choice. Brown scurried home following a wild pitch and Marbaugh strolled in when KELLIE KENNEY (Toledo/Emmanuel Baptist) smoked a double down the left field line, making it 8-1 in favor of Bluffton.
Three consecutive singles and the second perfectly executed squeeze bunt of the game by Marbaugh made the score 10-1 after only three innings of play. When Tech was unable to push any more runs across the plate in the fourth or fifth innings, Bluffton improved to 6-5 with a convincing 10-1 victory over the Warriors.
Sophomore BROOKE BABCOCK (Findlay/Findlay) held Indiana Tech to one paltry hit through five innings to up her record to 3-4 on the season. She finished with three strikeouts and one walk while surrendering only one unearned run to the Warriors.
Buckmaster and Brown were both 2-of-2 at the plate to lead the Beavers. Buckmaster scored three runs while Brown crossed the plate twice. Marbaugh and Miller both drove in two runs for Bluffton.
Indiana Tech 8, Bluffton 7 (8 innings)
Indiana Tech jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the home half of the first when Bluffton's throw for a force at third sailed to the fence, allowing the Warriors to score a pair of unearned runs despite only one hit in the inning.
The Warriors added a run in the second for a 3-0 lead over the Beavers.
One out after Mollie Brown was hit by a pitch in the top of the third inning, Miller showed that she has power to all fields, parking a BRITTANY BINGHAM offering over the right field wall for a two-run shot which cut the Warriors lead to a single run.
Three hits, a couple Bluffton errors and three more runs in the bottom of the third chased Beavers' starter Kellie Kenney with just one out. Babcock, who gave up only one earned run in 10 innings for the day, slammed the door on the Warriors over the next 4.2 innings, allowing just three hits and no runs through inning seven.
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Babcock crossed the plate when KAYLA WILLIAMS (Elida/Elida) reached on an Indiana Tech throwing error. Buckmaster's single and another Warrior throwing error allowed ALLISON WHITE (Lima/Shawnee) and ABBY SNIDER (Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) to cut the deficit to one run, 6-5.
Snider led off the seventh with a double to the wall in left center and she moved to third on an Amanda Harris bunt. Handley picked up Snider with her sacrifice fly to right field, making the score 6-6. Babcock kept the Warriors at bay in the bottom of the seventh even though Bluffton committed two errors in the frame.
Marbaugh again did the job for Bluffton in the top of the eighth when her fourth sacrifice bunt of the day moved Brown to third with one out. Miller put the Beavers up by a run with her RBI-single to left.
Babcock got ALLIE GLOVER to strike out swinging with JUSTINE BRANDT on second in the bottom of the inning. The Warriors sandwiched two singles around a wild pitch for an 8-7 victory over the Beavers in the finale from Greenfield Central High School outside of Indianapolis, Ind.
Although Babcock (3-5) limited the Warriors to only two runs, one earned, on five hits in five innings of work, she was saddled with the loss. She finished the contest with five strikeouts and no free passes. Kenney gave up six runs on six hits in 2.1 innings in the circle
Miller went 3-of-4 at the plate and she was robbed of a perfect 4-for-4 when her bloop down the right field line in the sixth forced Marbaugh at second base. She finished the day 4-of-7 with two home runs, five RBI's, two runs scored and a tremendous diving stop and throw in the first game that took away what looked to be a sure Warrior hit. Abby Snider went 3-of-4 with two runs scored in game two. Brown had two hits and scored twice in the second contest.
The Beavers trip to Alma this weekend has been postponed due to weather. Their next contest is a home doubleheader with St. Francis on Tuesday, March 18. The first game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
-BEAVERS-