Four members of the Bluffton University softball team were recognized when the Heartland Conference handed out its 2022 post-season hardware.
Bobbi Adams (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) notched First Team All-HCAC for the second straight season.
Fellow junior Lily Tate (Mount Gilead/Northmor) and freshman Madison Jones (West Milton/Milton Union) took home second team recognition, while junior Sydney Zinkon (Fresno/Ridgewood) was named honorable mention.
Adams hit .444 while starting all 36 games for the Beavers. She finished 5th in the conference for batting average and 5th all-time for a single season at Bluffton. The all-conference backstop led the HCAC with 38 RBI which is 5th in the single-season record book at Bluffton. Her six home runs placed Adams in a tie for 2nd in the league. She was top 10 in the HCAC with 52 hits and a .675 slugging percentage. The 52 hits is tied for 7th on the single-season list at Bluffton. Adams was even better in conference action, smacking it at a .481 clip which was 2nd in the HCAC. She was selected Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week after a dominating performance in a sweep at Oberlin.
With one season to play, Adams has moved to the top of the record book with a .416 batting average. Her .615 slugging percentage is 4th all-time, while her .451 on-base percentage is 5th. She is 9th with 10 dingers and her 65 RBI are 14th all-time. Her work behind the plate is equally magnificent as Adams has fashioned a .975 fielding percentage which is currently 13th all-time.
Tate had a breakout season for the Beavers, hitting almost a hundred points higher than she did as a sophomore. Her .388 batting average and 26 runs were both 2nd on the team. She drove in 25 runs and walked 13 times while finishing with a .453 on-base percentage. Tate struck out just one time in 121 at-bats and her work at shortstop was nothing short of outstanding. She had only four errors while racking up 109 assists (tied for 4th all-time).
Heading into her senior campaign, Tate is 9th all-time with a .342 batting average. She is up to 12th on the career list with a .408 OBP and her .457 slugging percentage is 15th all-time. Tate is 13th with 214 career assists despite a freshman campaign that consisted of just 10 games.
Jones found herself in the lineup from day one and she was a key cog at the plate with a .381 batting average in 36 starts. Whether she was in the circle, in right field or batting as the DP, Jones was always a tough out for the opposition. Her .637 slugging percentage is 15th all-time and her five triples are tied for 3rd on the single-season list. Jones led the Beavers with 30 runs scored (8th in the HCAC) and her 29 RBI were second on the team (7th in the HCAC). She struck out 41 batters in 64.1 innings of work, finishing the season with a 6.75 ERA and .318 opponent batting average.
Zinkon picked up her first All-HCAC honor after seeing her batting average go from .125 in 2021 to .301 in 2022! She scored 23 runs on 34 hits and drove in nine runs. Zinkon was a fixture at second base, checking in with 72 putouts, 56 assists and eight double plays.
Bluffton finished the year with a 13-23 mark overall and 5-11 in the Heartland Conference (tied for 6th) with Head Coach Paige Jansen in her first year at the helm.
