Cross country
The Bluffton University cross country team was back in action Saturday at Salzman Stadium where they took part in an inter-squad 1600 meter race.
The women kicked off first and were led by freshman Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's), who ran an impressive time of 6:02. After the race, Jenia said, "I felt pretty good about the race as a whole. My legs were a little tired going into it, and it was a little windy, but overall I was just happy that I was able to get closer to my PR and get some more practice racing."
Freshman Miranda Billman (Castalia/Margaretta) also had a great day, finishing 2nd for the ladies with a time of 6:15. The freshman trio of Makenzie Brownrigg (Davison), Brooke Barnes (Ashland/Crestview), and Cheyenne Null (Norwalk/St. Paul) capped off the scoring 5 for the women.
The men followed soon after the women and were led by freshman Ethan Ly (Celina) who ran 4:43. He was closely followed by fellow freshman Alex Montross (Perrysburg) who finished with a time of 4:45.
Montross has had a very solid start to his freshman year and had this to say after the race, "It was fun to compete with my teammates and continue to push each other to do our best."
Third place went to sophomore Britton Boyle (Middletown/Madison) who was followed by freshman Carter Ritchey (Hopewell-Loudon) and sophomore Max Chandler (Liberty Township/Lakota East), who finished within one second of each other to close out the men's scoring five.
The Beavers are back in action Sunday, Oct. 25, at 3 p.m. at Salzman Stadium.
Women's golf
The Bluffton University women traveled to Mohawk Golf and Country Club for day one of the Tiffin University Fall Invite on Saturday. Teeing off with a host of outstanding NCAA Division II schools, Bluffton opened the weekend with a 399.
Sophomore Marissa Hall (Avon Lake) paced the women with a 94. Three strokes back was junior Brylee Oberdorf (Green Springs/Clyde) who finished with a 97. Sophomore Haley Gill (Indianapolis, IN/Franklin Central) tallied a 101, while freshman Meredith Obringer (Tiffin/Columbian) and junior Keely Briggs (Franklin) rounded out the day one scoring with 107 and 113, respectively.
Softball
The Bluffton University softball team split a pair of lopsided contests with Adrian College on Saturday. Adrian took the lidlifter 8-2 before Bluffton rolled to a 12-2 victory in game two.
Bobbi Adams (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) provided the offense in game one with a bomb to center in the fourth inning. She followed that up with an RBI single in the seventh that plated senior Sydney Bowen (Convoy/Crestview). Adams finished 3-of-4 with two RBI in the opening game.
Sophomore Erin Norman (Pleasant Hill/Newton) took the loss after allowing six runs on 13 hits in six innings of work.
Bluffton scored in five of six innings en route to a dominating 12-2 victory in the nightcap. Baker unloaded with a two-run shot in the first frame before the Beavers plastered a five-spot on the scoreboard in the third frame. Lily Tate (Mount Gilead/Northmor) delivered with a two-run double down the right field line as Bluffton led 8-2 after just three innings.
Senior Riley Langstaff (Findlay) drove in two with ther double to left center in the sixth and Baker followed with an RBI single to left that made the final score 12-2.
Getting it done in the circle was senior Katie McCord (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) who went five innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits with a pair of punchouts. Junior Molly Bollinger (Lima/Shawnee) wrapped a bow on it with two innings of shutout relief.
Baker torched the Bulldogs with five RBI while sophomore Marissa Auvil (Canton/North Canton Hoover) scored three times. McCord helped herself with two hits and two RBI. Tate and Langstaff both drove in a pair of runs for the victors. Sophomore Sammi Urban (Troy/Miami East) croased the dish twice in game two. Making a pair of highlight reel grabs at shortstop was sophomore Emily Dyson (Payne/Wayne Trace)!
Bluffton will cap off its 2020 fall slate when it returns the favor with a trip to Adrian College on Friday, Oct. 16.
