BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Adrian College on April 10, 2022. Bluffton moved to 10-12, while Adrian improved to 7-15 on the season.
Bluffton fell behind 9-1 midway through the fifth with the lone run coming in the second when Kryshel Dales (Defiance/Ayersville) doubled and crossed the dish following a Lily Tate (Mount Gilead/Northmor) base hit.
A Bobbi Adams (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) long ball down the left field line staved off a quick finish in the home fifth. Adrian tried to end it with two tallies in the sixth, but Erin Norman (Pleasant Hill/Newton) responded with a two-run laser to center after an RBI double by Dales. However, the Beavers were unable to get any closer as Adrian wrapped up an 11-5 victory in the opener.
Adams went 3-of-4, while Dales doubled twice and scored two runs, going 2-of-3. Norman drove in two with her homer and she allowed two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings of relief. Madison Jones (West Milton/Milton Union) fell to 3-2 after surrendering nine runs on 11 hits with five walks.
The Beavers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Adrian committed three errors in the inning. Tate, Adams and Mia McCartney (North Baltimore) all crossed the dish for the home team.
Adrian knotted it up with three tallies in the fourth and the visitors took a 5-3 lead when they added two more an inning later. Bluffton stayed alive in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a two-run double by Adams that plated Jones and Tate and sent the game to extra innings.
The Bluffton defense came up huge in the eighth, cutting Adrian down at home with the international tie breaker in play. Junior Sammi Urban (Troy/Miami East) put down a perfect bunt and she moved to second when Adrian made a play at the plate. Another fielder's choice moved Urban to third and she scurried home thanks to a walkoff wild pitch that gave Bluffton the 6-5 victory!
Adams went 2-of-3 with a sacrifice fly and three RBI. Tate was 2-of-4 with two runs scored. Grace Fillinger (Hinckley/Highland) worked a scoreless eighth and was rewarded with the victory. Norman allowed three runs in her four-inning start but did not factor in the decision. She and Katie Fleshman (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) both struck out two Bulldogs.
Bluffton will be back in action on Wednesday, April 13, when the Beavers travel to Cincinnati to face HCAC heavyweight Mount St. Joseph. Game one is slated for 3:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-