April 24, 2016
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant
FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Bluffton University baseball team came away with a series victory over Franklin College thanks to a 7-6 win in 10 innings on Sunday, April 24. With the win, the Beavers improved to 12-20 overall and 7-12 in HCAC play, while the Grizzlies fell to 12-20 with a 7-12 HCAC mark.
The Beaver offense picked apart the Grizzlies in the second frame as a base hit by Reid Maus (Hamilton/Badin) drove home Tommy Nobile (Reynoldsburg) to put Bluffton up 1-0. Then with two men on, Austin Prosser (Galion) drove one over the fence and suddenly the Beavers were in control with a 4-0 advantage.
The Grizzlies scored their first in the third, but the Beavers got it back in the sixth as Maus connected for his second run-scoring single of the contest.
Franklin added one in the seventh before putting up a four-spot in the eighth to take a 6-5 lead entering the ninth. The Beavers knotted it in the ninth as Luke Hickey (Toledo/Whitmer) knocked home Prosser to make it 6-6. Kevin Every (Zanesville/West Muskingum) slammed home a perfect bottom of the inning to send the contest to extras.
Tanner Hamilton (Centerville) walked to lead off the 10th and Blake Fox (Berne, Ind./South Adams) moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. He advanced to third on a groundout and Austin Prosser came through with a base-hit to score Hamilton for a 7-6 advantage. Every tossed a second straight shutout inning in the bottom half to secure the win.
Corey Johnson (Waverly) threw 6.1 innings of two-run, five-hit baseball for the Beavers. After the rough eighth inning, Kevin Every tossed 2.2 innings of two-hit baseball to bring Bluffton a series win.
Austin Prosser took a page out of the Metallica songbook as he was the 'Hero of the Day'! Prosser went 3-of-4 with four RBI, including a three-run homer and game-winning single in the 10th. He also scored two runs, one of them tying the game in the ninth. Reid Maus went 2-for-5 with two RBI singles. Luke Hickey, Jason Colliver (Beavercreek), and Tanner Hamilton finished with two hits apiece for the Beavers.
Bluffton returns home on Tuesday, April 26, to take on the Earlham College Quakers. First pitch is set for 4:15 p.m. at Memorial Field. Come support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
