April 14, 2015
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant

Stats

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University baseball team struggled out of the gate and never recovered as they dropped their matchup with Defiance College, 6-4, on Tuesday, April 14. The loss knocked the Beavers out of the three-way first place tie in the HCAC, dropping them to 10-6 in the conference and 17-11 overall. Defiance improved to 12-11 and 7-8 in the HCAC, salvaging one victory in the season series.

The Yellow Jackets put up a four spot in the first inning, chasing starter Austin Every (Zanesville/West Muskingum) from the contest early as he walked four and gave up two hits in his two-thirds of an inning. Sophomore Taylor Gambrell (Bowling Green) came in for relief action and allowed just one unearned run in the fifth, his final inning of work, to give Defiance the 5-0 advantage after five innings.

The Beaver offense came alive in the sixth as T.J. Devore (Grove City) knocked a 1-0 pitch out of the park to cut the Defiance lead to 5-2. A two-out, two-run single from Jake Townley (Mansfield/Madison) pulled Bluffton within one run after seven innings of play, but they would get no closer as Defiance added an insurance tally in the seventh and the Beavers left two on base in the ninth to drop the HCAC tilt.

Defiance starter Nick Peters improved to 3-0 on the season after giving up four runs (two earned) on 10 hits in a victorious effort, while Jacob Green threw a scoreless ninth for his second save. The two were bridged by Nick Watkins who threw 1.1 innings of relief for the hold. Bluffton’s Austin Every took the loss and fell to 1-1 on the season, while Gambrell, Kevin Every (Zanesville/West Muskingum), and Corey Johnson (Waverly) combined for 8.1 innings of relief without giving up an earned run.

Offensively, Townley led the team with his 3-for-5 effort, two RBI and a run scored. Devore finished 2-for-4 with the homer and two RBI, while Michael Alexander (Monroe) and Luke Hickey (Toledo/Whitmer) also added two hits apiece in the loss.

The Beavers return home on Friday, April 17, as they kick off a three-game series with the HCAC-leading Anderson University Ravens. First pitch is set for 4:15 p.m. on Friday, with a doubleheader slated for 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. Come support your Beavers!

-BEAVERS-