April 19, 2016
By: Griffin Kuras, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Defiance College Yellow Jackets came to town to take on Bluffton University in an HCAC contest on Tuesday, April 19. The Beavers were able to complete the comeback in a 10-7 victory, marking the second time this year Bluffton was able to get the better of Defiance. The victory boosts the Beavers to 10-19 with a 5-11 record in the HCAC. With the loss, Defiance fell to 15-13 and a 8-8 in conference.
The game started shakily for junior Jaylen Von Sossan (Ottawa) as he found himself with the bases loaded right off the bat, but he was able to escape the jam with two strikeouts and a groundout. The Beavers were the first to get on the board with a single run in the bottom of the first as Jason Colliver (Beavercreek) crossed the dish on a Colin Gregory (Fremont) sacrifice fly.
The fifth inning saw the Jackets turn the tables as the visitors put up five runs on five hits with two Bluffton errors thrown in for good measure.
Still trailing 7-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth, the Bluffton offense exploded, taking advantage of the Yellow Jacket pitchers missing their spots. The Beavers were able to use an error, a walk and timely swings to roll off seven runs on six hits while taking a 10-7 lead. Seven straight Beavers reached safely before the Jackets could record an out and Tanner Hodges (Taylor, Mich./John F. Kennedy) capped the outburst with a two-run double for the final margin!
Kevin Every (Zanesville/West Muskingum) was the winning pitcher for the Beavers, bumping his record up to 1-2 on the season after working two innings of relief with a strikeout. He allowed one hit and needed just 22 pitches to record six outs. Travis Clark (Lima/Central Catholic) shut down the Jackets in the ninth with two groundouts before ending the game with a big strikeout for his fifth save of the season.
Colliver went 3-of-4 with a walk and three runs scored, while junior shortstop Luke Hickey (Toledo/Whitmer) collected three walks and an RBI.
The Beavers hit the road for an HCAC series at Franklin this weekend. First pitch is slated for 4:15 on Friday, April 19.
-BEAVERS-
