Spring has returned to Bluffton, bringing the Lady Pirates back to the
softball diamond and the W's back to a veteran squad, as the ladies
tally up two wins in the opening week of the season.

Bluffton 3 McComb 1
The Lady Pirates traveled to McComb for the season opener on Monday and came away with a tough 3-1 win. Senior Ashlin Gable knocked in the first RBI for the Pirates with a single to right field. Pirate DH Tori Halcomb quickly added an RBI double to put the ladies up 2-0 in the top of the third.

The Lady Pirates added one run in the fourth as Senior Kayla Longworth batted in Adrian Rumer from second base. The Pirates continue to play stingy defense, led by Longworth in the

circle and a veteran infield, with Gable at first, Katie Palte at short,
Rumer at third, and promising newcomers Lauren Parkins at second and Mackayla Wilson behind the plate.

Lady Pirate stats:
Gable 2/3 RBI, 11 put outs
Halcomb 1/3 RBI
Longworth(1-0) 1/3 RBI, 4 K's
Palte 2 P/O, 4 assists
Wilson 2 P/O, 2 assists

Bluffton 4 Carey 3

The Lady Pirates kept their undefeated home streak alive on Tuesday as
they battled out a tough 10 inning 4-3 win against Carey. The Pirates got on the bases first as lead off batter Katie Palte was walked, and advanced to third on two well placed outs by Lauren Parkins

and Ashlin Gable. Freshman catcher Mackayla Wilson was able to drive
Palte in with a base hit to put the Pirates on the board in the bottom
of the first.

The ladies struck again in the bottom of the third as Gable gained base
with a single and DH Tori Halcomb ripped an RBI triple to right field.
Wilson picked up another RBI as she was thrown out at first allowing
Halcomb to score, putting the Pirates up 3-0.

Carey battled back in the fourth inning off two hits and a few untimely errors by the Pirate defense to make the score 3-2 in favor of the home team. The visitors made another charge in the fifth scoring one run and loading up the bases with one out. Center-fielder Liv Hunt and Palte teamed up at second to make an inning ending double play leaving the score tied 3-3.

The Pirates couldn't capitalize on bases loaded in the bottom of the
fifth leaving all three runners stranded. The defense on both sides
stepped up play and the game continued tied 3-3 until the bottom of the
tenth inning. The Pirates got runners in position off two walks by
Wilson and Adrian Rumer. Lexi Luginbihl added a base hit but the Carey
defense picked off the lead runner at third. The next batter struck out,
bringing up tired pitcher Longworth with runners on and two outs.
Longworth sealed the day for the Pirates by lobbing the game winning
RBI to the outfield.

The Pirates stand at 2-0 and have a busy week ahead as they travel to
USV Wednesday, host Ottawa-Glandorf Thursday, and host Perry in a double header at home on Saturday.

Lady Pirate stats:
Palte 3/4 1 walk, 2 P/O, 4 assists
Parkins 1 P/O, 3 assists
Gable 3/5, 12 P/O
Wilson 2/4, 1 walk, 2 RBI,
Luginbihl 3/5, 1 P/O
Longworth (2-0) 2/5, RBI, 13 K's
Halcomb 1/ 4, 1-3B, RBI
Treen 1/3, 1-2B