April 15, 2017

Game 1 Stats  I  Game 2 Stats

BLUFFTON, Ohio -The Bluffton University softball team took down Franklin College 5-2 in game one before the Grizzlies secured a split with their 8-5 victory in the finale. Bluffton honored Emily Scupholm (Cuyahoga Falls/Our Lady of the Elms) prior the games as part of the Senior Day festivities. The Beavers moved to 17-10 overall and 3-6 in the Heartland Conference, while Franklin stands 19-11 and 4-2 in the conference following the split.

Caylin Morstadt (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) knotted the score at 1-1 with two-out homer to center field in the bottom of the second. Jessie Madzia (Massillon/Tuslaw) led off the fourth with a shot to center and Kelsi Wilson (Pataskala/Licking Heights) added an RBI single up the middle two outs later for a 3-1 Bluffton lead heading to the fifth inning.

With Bluffton clinging to a 3-2 lead in the sixth, Morstadt tied the school record with her second dinger of the game, a two-run shot to center that picked up Chelsea Zoltowski (Sylvania/Southview) for the final 5-2 margin.

Scupholm improved to 10-4 with her Senior Day victory. She tossed a five-hitter, allowing two runs, one earned, in the complete game effort.

Morstadt drove in three runs with her two homers.

The home team was unable to carry the momentum over to the second game as Franklin plated three unearned runs in the top of the first thanks to two errors, a walk and a hit batter. The Grizzlies tacked on two runs in the second, two in the third and another in the fourth. All eight runs were scored with two outs.

A Brittany Huff (Clayton/Northmont) dinger in the first accounted for Bluffton's only offense until the final frame when the Beavers tried to pull of the unlikely rally. Franklin chipped in with two errors as the home team scored four times before the Grizzlies closed out the 8-5 victory.

Huff went 3-of-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Josie McElroy (Mt. Orab/Western Brown) chipped in with two safeties.

Nicole Thomas (Tontogany/Otsego) fell to 4-4 after surrendering all eight runs (two earned) on seven hits in 3.1 innings of work. She walked three and struck out one. Madzia kept the Beavers in the game with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. She limited the Grizzlies to two hits and did not issue a free pass.

Bluffton will travel to Mount St. Joseph on Wednesday, April 19, for a pair of conference games with the Lions. The first pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.

-BEAVERS-