April 13, 2016
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University offense took the day off as Defiance College snapped a string of nine straight losses at the hands of the Beavers with a 1-0 victory in game one before polishing off their first sweep of Bluffton since 2006 with a 4-2 win in the nightcap. Bluffton fell to 12-14 overall and 0-4 in the Heartland Conference, while Defiance improved to 12-14 with a 3-3 mark in the HCAC.
Defiance scored the only run of game one on a wild pitch in the fifth. A leadoff double in the fifth followed by a sacrifice bunt helped Defiance plate the only run it would need.
Sophomore Jessie Madzia (Massillon/Tuslaw) was superb in the circle, limiting Defiance to just two hits and four walks in her complete-game effort. Makenzie Schmidt (Caledonia/River Valley) and Kelsey Reeder (Galion/Northmor) both smacked two hits for the Beavers in the game one shutout.
The home team jumped on top 2-0 in the first inning of game two thanks to a Bluffton error and a leadoff walk. The Beavers got one run back in the third when sophomore slugger Josie McElroy (Mt. Orab/Western Brown) singled home Makenzie Schmidt. Bluffton knotted it with a tally in the fifth, but the Beavers were unable to make Defiance pay for two errors and a bases loaded jam with just one out, settling for one paltry run.
In stark contrast to Bluffton's offense in the top of the frame, Defiance put together four hits for two runs in the home half, making the score 4-2. The Beavers went three up and three down in the sixth and seventh as the Jackets capped off a crucial conference sweep of the visitors.
Emily Scupholm (Cuyahoga Falls/Our Lady of the Elms) took the loss, dropping to 7-6 on the season. She gave up four runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings of work. Sophomore Nicole Thomas (Tontogany/Otsego) held Defiance scoreless over the final 1.1 frames.
McElroy and Reeder paced the Bluffton offense with two hits apiece in game two, Reeder finished the day 4-of-6 for the Beavers.
Bluffton will look to crack the HCAC win column on Saturday, April 16, when the Beavers host Mount St. Joseph in the first of six conference games over a four-day period. The first contest is slated for 1 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
