March 28, 2017
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team hosted the Ohio Northern Polar Bears on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon. It took extra innings in both games to declare a winner, but the Beavers were able to get both those wins. The sweep of the Polar Bears saw Bluffton improve to 14-4 overall while Ohio Northern dropped to 15-3 on the season.
Bluffton opened up the first game allowing just one hit through the first three innings, going up 1-0 in the bottom of the third after an RBI single down the left field line by BRITTANY HUFF (Clayton/Northmont). The Polar Bears answered with a run in the fourth to knot the contest up at 1-1.
It was a superlative day on the mound for EMILY SCUPHOLM (Cuyahoga Falls/Our Lady of the Elms) who did not allow another Polar Bear hit the rest of the contest. With a runner placed on second in the bottom of the eighth for the international tie-breaker, Bluffton kept the Polar Bears off the scoreboard before CHELSEA ZOLTOWSKI's (Sylvania/Southview) ground ball to short sent pinch runner BrIanna West (Kettering/Fairmont) scurrying home for the game-winning run!
KELSI WILSON (Pataskala/Licking Heights) led the Beavers at the plate as the junior went 2-for-3. Brittany Huff smacked a hit and drove in a run while freshman CAYLIN MORSTADT (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) added a base knock of her own.
Scupholm was in control from the start, fanning seven batters while improving to 7-1 on the season. Allowing only one unearned run off two hits, her ERA now stands at 1.84.
In game two, Bluffton jumped out to a quick 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the first after an RBI double to right from Brittany Huff and JOSIE McELROY's (Mt. Orab/Western Brown) run-scoring single. The Polar Bears answered back in the top of the second, scoring four unearned runs to take a 4-2 lead.
The Beavers cut the gap to 4-3 in the bottom of the third after a Caylin Morstadt RBI. Neither team would score in the fourth and fifth innings, but Bluffton tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a MAKENZIE SCHMIDT (Caledonia/River Valley) single that scored Chelsea Zoltowski. Following a scoreless seventh, the Beavers took advantage of the runner on second in extra innings when Brianna West scored her second game-winning run of the day off a perfectly-executed squeeze bunt by Kelsi Wilson as Bluffton defeated Ohio Northern 5-4.
Josie McElroy went 3-of-4 with a double and run batted in. Also coming up big offensively was Makenzie Schmidt and Caylin Morstadt who each smacked a pair of hits with an RBI each.
On the hill for the Beavers was JESSIE MADZIA (Massillon/Tuslaw) who picked up the complete game win to move to 3-1 overall. The junior allowed four runs, all unearned, on seven hits in the victory.
Brittany Huff continued her hot hitting as she leads the team at .435 on the season with a team high 25 RBI. Right behind her is Josie McElroy who has 23 RBI on the season, hitting .394 with an HCAC-leading five long balls.
Bluffton will kick right back into action on Friday when the Beavers host Ohio Wesleyan at 3:30 p.m. with hopes of extending their 6-game winning streak!
-BEAVERS-
