April 26, 2015
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team fell in a heartbreaker on Senior Day at Memorial Field as the Beavers came up just short to Rose-Hulman, 2-1, on Sunday, April 26. The home team took a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning, when the Engineers would score two runs to earn the sweep. The Beavers fell to 20-16, 13-10 in the HCAC, while the Engineers took over sole possession of first in the conference with a record of 15-7 and 22-12 overall.
Bluffton scored its lone run in the fourth inning as senior Mike Castro (Reynoldsburg) led off with a base hit and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. T.J. Devore (Grove City) drove a single through the right side to score Castro for a 1-0 advantage.
Bluffton sophomore Jaylen Von Sossan (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) was in control from the start as he cruised through eight innings of shutout baseball. Caleb Kissel led off the ninth with a base hit and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. The Beavers elected to intentionally walk the red-hot Donnie Waters who was a ridiculous 10-of-11 on the weekend before pulling Von Sossan for reliever Corey Johnson (Waverly). The sophomore got a strikeout, but then surrendered back-to-back RBI hits as Rose-Hulman’s two ninth-inning runs were the difference.
Von Sossan threw 8.1 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits in falling to 2-3. Johnson gave up two hits in his 0.2 innings on the mound. RHIT starter Andrew Stull got the win with 8.2 innings of one-run, four-hit baseball, while Alec McNally garnered his sixth save of the season. Stull took a line drive off the head in the bottom of the ninth that kept him from the finishing the game.
Bluffton returns to action for the home finale on Tuesday, April 28, as they take on the Earlham College Quakers at Memorial Field. A win over the Quakers would give Bluffton the series victory over Earlham while also putting Bluffton back into fourth place in the conference heading into the final weekend series at Transylvania. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. Come support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
