ByTodd Stover, sports information intern
Stats http://www.bluffton.edu/sports/baseball/2013/04-23-bb.htm
The Bluffton University baseball team tied the school record for wins Tuesday, taking their 19th game of the season, 9-8, over Earlham College. Bluffton’s win ties the mark set each of the last two years. The Beavers built an early 5-0 lead and held on late for the victory on a rainy Tuesday, April 23. It marked Earlham's first home game of the season after playing 38 straight times away from McBride Stadium.
Bluffton jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a hot start at the plate, getting three straight doubles from Doug Paullin (Jeromesville/Hillsdale), Kyle Niermann (Napoleon), and Tim Webb (Delaware/Worthington Christian) after a walk to open the game. To cap off the inning, sophomore Jake Townley (Mansfield/Madison) crushed a pitch over the left-center field fence for a two-run home run and a 5-0 lead before Earlham recorded an out.
Miles Richardson (Granville/Newark Catholic) had a rough outing on the mound, surrendering six runs, four of them earned, in only 3.2 innings.
The Beavers added a run in the top of the third thanks to another Jake Townley home run, his second of the game and third of the season. It was Townley’s first multi-homer game at Bluffton.
Senior Mark Hadaya (Beavercreek) held the Quakers at bay after Richardson’s departure. Hadaya did not allow an earned run in 2.1 innings of work while improving to 2-2 on the season.
With Earlham clawing back into the game, Bluffton received some clutch hitting from David Ianiro (Highland Heights/Mayfield) and Mike Castro (Reynoldsburg), who had back-to-back two out hits to plate a run in the fifth. Castro's RBI double put Bluffton back in front 8-7 after five innings and Coach Grandey pulled all the right strings as the the Beaver bullpen finished the job.
Bluffton manufactured another run in the seventh inning after Jeff Roth (Bellvue) singled to score Ianiro. Though this gave the Beavers a two-run advantage, they found themselves in trouble each of the final three innings.
Mark Hadaya and Brad Schalbach (Fredericksburg/Hiland) each worked out of bases-loaded jams to preserve the Bluffton lead. Sophomore Nate Simonds (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) and David Ianiro finished the game on the hill, with Ianiro getting the final out, leaving an Earlham runner stranded on third after being 90 feet from tying the game with just one out.
With the win, Bluffton improved to 19-14, including a 10-8 mark in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Beavers will be back in action this weekend when they face No. 15 Manchester University in a crucial three-game set. The first game of the series is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. on Friday at Memorial Field.
