By Ethan Stearns, sports information assistant
www.BlufftonBeavers.com

HANOVER, Ind.--The Bluffton University softball team fell short in two games at Hanover College, on Thursday, April 6, 2023. Bluffton dipped to 11-13 overall and 0-2 in the Heartland Conference, while the Panthers improved to 11-15 and 3-1 in the HCAC.

The Panthers went up 6-0 through the first six innings and held on for a 6-2 victory when Bluffton scored its only two runs in the final inning. Sydney Zinkon (Fresno/Ridgewood) drove in Kaylee Grant (Lima/Shawnee) with a triple to center. Bobbi Adams (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) followed with an RBI double to left field that plated Zinkon.

Adams went 3-of-4 with an RBI and Zinkon raked in the only other RBI for the visitors. Senior Erin Norman (Pleasant Hill/Newton) fell to 6-6 after the loss, tossing a complete game while not issuing a free pass.

The second game saw runs put up in bunches as there were a combined 25 tallies between the two teams. The final score saw the home Panthers rally for a 16-9 victory.

After a scoreless first inning, the Beavers took a 3-0 lead in the second. Sophomore Mia McCartney (North Baltimore) doubled and scored the first run after a groundout from Hayley Lewis (Kettering/Fairmont). Grant drove in two more with her two-bagger to right field.

Bluffton University added another run in the third inning when freshman Elizabeth Crites (Findlay) laced a single to right that scored Kryshel Dales (Defiance/Ayersville).

The Beavers held a 6-2 lead midway through inning four when the proverbial wheels fell off. Hanover put up five in the bottom of the frame, five more in the fifth and four in the sixth en route to a convincing 16-9 victory.

Bluffton's two runs in the fourth came courtesy of an Adams RBI double that picked up Lexus Rutledge (Henderson/Henderson County). The next tally was scored when Dales singled home Grant for the 6-2 lead.

The Beavers put up one more string of runs in the sixth inning thanks to four Bluffton hits. McCartney doubled to left field for an RBI and would later score herself on a single to left from Lewis. Crites added another RBI with a missile to shortstop. Despite a whopping 17 hits and nine runs, the Beavers came up short, 16-9, in game two.

Grant, Lewis, and Crites all drove in two runs for the visitors. Adams, Dales and McCartney rounded out the scoring with one RBI apiece. Crites and Rutledge both smacked three hits in game two.

Grace Fillinger (Hinckley/Highland) slipped to 5-5, allowing nine runs, but just three earned, in 4.1 innings with two walks. Katie Fleshman (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) tossed 1.1 innings of relief and allowed seven runs with one strikeout and four free passes.

The Beavers look to get back on track with two games at conference rival Defiance College on Saturday, April 8. The first game is slated for approximately 1 p.m.