April 23, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team stepped out of the Heartland Conference to play Capital University on Sunday, April 23, 2017. The Beavers split a pair of one-run extra-inning affairs, moving to 18-13 on the season, while Capital stand 23-15 overall.
A Kelsi Wilson (Pataskala/Licking Heights) RBI single that picked up Josie McElroy (Mt. Orab/Western Brown) in the second was the only run scored by either team until a two-run shot by Capital in the bottom of the fifth.
Brittany Huff (Clayton/Northmont) responded with a solo homer in the top of the sixth, but the Beavers were unable to score in the seventh and eighth. The home team took advantage of a Bluffton error in the bottom of the eighth, taking game 1 by a 3-2 count.
McElroy was 3-of-3 with a run scored as the Beavers finished with seven hits. Huff was 1-of-4 with her 6th bomb of the season.
Emily Scupholm (Cuyahoga Falls/Our Lady of the Elms) limited the Crusaders to three runs, two earned, on six hits in 7+ innings of work. She struck out four and did not issue any walks but fell to 10-6 on the season.
McElroy doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Courtney Jasinski (Englewood/Northmont) in the top of the second, putting Bluffton up 1-0 early in game two.
Capital knotted it up with a run in the sixth and when both teams went down without a whimper in the seventh, they headed to extras for the second time in two hours. A scoreless eighth gave way to the ninth, and Bluffton executed back-to-back bunts for the 2-1 victory. Mercedes Burns (Ashtabula) squeezed home pinch runner Makenzie Schmidt (Caledonia/River Valley) with what would be the winning run when Jessie Madzia (Massillon/Tuslaw) closed it out in the bottom of the frame.
Burns, McElroy and Carly Levindofske (Brunswick/Magnificat) all rapped two hits in the finale with McElroy going 5-of-5 on the day!
Nicole Thomas (Tontogany/Otsego) scattered six hits over 6.1 innings, allowing just one run. Madzia worked the final 2.2 scoreless frames, improving to 4-3.
Bluffton welcomes Manchester University for its final home games of the season on Wednesday, April 26. The first pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
