The Bluffton University baseball team saw two players earn First Team All-Heartland Conference honors for the first time since 2018. Graduate senior Garrett O'Reilly (Galena/Orange) and junior Jake Baumgartner (Toledo/Start) were both named to the top team, while freshman Andrew Collinsworth (Westerville/Westerville South) collected honorable mention recognition for 2022.
When O'Reilly made the decision to come back for a fifth year, which was made a possibility because of what COVID-19 did to the past two season, the Beavers were ecstatic. O'Reilly was a starter from day one, earning First Team All-HCAC honors way back in 2018 when he led Bluffton to its first-ever Heartland Conference tournament berth. Working in the financial aid office this year, O'Reilly was the ace on Bluffton's pitching staff and he played in left field or at first base when he wasn't on the hill because his bat was going to be in the lineup.
O'Reilly went 4-2 with a 3.90 ERA in 55.1 innings of work. His 1.62 walks per nine innings is 8th all-time for a single season as he walked just 10 batters in 2022. He limited the opposition to a .269 batting average and his 45 strikeouts were just two behind Carson Curnutte (Hilliard/Hilliard-Davidson) who led the team with 47 punchouts.
On the top half of the box score, O'Reilly hit .308 with eight two-baggers and a team-best four dingers. He slugged .496 and finished with a .456 on-base percentage thanks to 20 free passes and being hit by a pitch 12 times which helped the Beavers to a school-record 90 for that painful category! O'Reilly scored 34 runs, drove in 20 and was 6-of-6 on stolen bases.
O'Reilly wrapped up his career at number three all-time with 212 innings pitched. He is tied for 6th with 13 victories and his 143 strikeouts are 7th on the career list. O'Reilly is 8th all-time with 28 games started on the bump, while his 2.03 walks per nine innings is 5th in Bluffton history. He is also 6th all-time after being hit by 24 pitches during his tenure with the Beavers.
Baumgartner had a breakout season in 2022, hitting .333 while slugging a team-best .516 thanks to 13 doubles, three triples and three homers. He also led the team with 51 hits, 23 walks and five sacrifice flies. Bummy flashed the leather at second base with a slick .967 fielding percentage and 86 assists (2nd on the team).
Collinsworth was a key member of Bluffton's rotation from the beginning, starting once and making three appearances at spring break in Florida. He went 3-2 with a sparkling 3.40 earned run average which was 5th in the HCAC for qualifying pitchers. His .233 opponent batting average was 3rd in the conference. The 2.39 ERA Collinsworth put up during the conference portion of the schedule was the best in the league for 2022! He was a perfect 3-0 in HCAC games, earning HCAC Player of the Week honors after a complete-game 11-2 victory over Manchester.
Bluffton finished the season with a 17-22 mark overall and 9-9 split in the Heartland Conference. The Beavers were the only team to sweep HCAC Tournament Champion Earlham in 2022.
