April 13, 2016
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team took advantage of three Yellow Jacket errors and four unearned runs as the Beavers downed rival Defiance College 6-4 on Wednesday, April 13, 2016. It marked the third straight win for Bluffton which stands 9-16 overall and 4-8 in the Heartland Conference. Defiance slipped to 13-11 on the season and 6-6 in HCAC action.
Freshman Brandon Marable (Columbus/Hamilton Township) singled home Blake Fox (Berne, Ind./South Adams) in the top of the second for a quick 1-0 lead. An infield single by Luke Hickey (Toledo/Whitmer) in the third plated Clayton Siders (Delaware/Worthington Christian) as the Beavers pushed it to 2-0.
The Jackets knotted it with two runs on four hits in the bottom of the third, but the Beavers took advantage of two errors in the top of the fourth, scoring three unearned runs despite not collecting a hit. Single tallies by Defiance in the fourth and sixth made the score 5-4 heading to the seventh.
Another Yellow Jacket error in the eighth allowed freshman Dennis Szalai (LaGrange/Keystone) to cross the dish for the final 6-4 margin as senior stopper Travis Clark (Lima/Central Catholic) set down the final five hitters to secure the victory.
Junior Dyson Bowman (Coshocton) worked five strong innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits with seven big strikeouts. He improved to 2-1 on the season and did not allow a walk as four Bluffton pitchers issued just one free pass for the game. Raymond Richard (Taylor, Mich./John F. Kennedy) and Corey Johnson (Waverly) combined for 2.1 innings of one-run relief. Clark was lights out in earning his fourth save of the season!
Luke Hickey, Clayton Siders and Colin Gregory (Fremont/Clyde) all finished with two hits for the victors. Defiance nearly doubled Bluffton's eight hits with 15 safeties, but the Beavers won the war on the scoreboard by a 6-4 count.
Bluffton returns to Memorial Field for an HCAC series with front-runner Rose-Hulman this weekend. The first game is slated for 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 16. The Beavers will play twice on Saturday with the finale scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday.
-BEAVERS-
