By Sam Brauen, www.blufftonpirates.com
The Lady Pirate softball team is peaking at just the right time.

 Bluffton won their 10th straight game and exacted revenge from an earlier season loss in an 8-2 victory over Spencerville in the opening round of the OHSAA tournament.  

Bluffton will travel to Paulding Friday to take on the Panthers in the Sectional Final.  Paulding defeated Bluffton 3-1 on April 12 just before the current Pirate winning streak began. Ironically, the Bearcats were the most recent team to beat BHS. 

Bluffton pushed two runs across in both the first two innings for a 4-0 lead.  Junior Katie Prater belted a solo home run in the fourth inning and added a two run double in the fifth as BHS extended out to an 8-0 lead.  

Prater went 4/4 on the night with three runs batted in and four runs scored.  Prater also ended the game by throwing out a Bearcat would be base stealer at second base, Averey Rumer with the tag. 

Rumer continued her hot hitting this season.  The junior is batting over .600 and went 2/3 with a double and two runs scored.  Mara Minnig and Brinkley Garmatter added hits.  Libby Schaadt had two hits and an RBI.  The sophomore also picked up the win on the mound, limiting the Bearcats to four hits while striking out eight.

Schaadt worked through a pitching hand injury in the fifth and a balky knee in the bottom of the fifth for the win.