By Kyle Stover

The Bluffton University baseball team continued their early-season success on Friday, March 15, winning 7-5 over Wilmington College. The Beavers would not let an early deficit change their tune as they recovered quickly and never looked back en route to the victory.

Sophomore Nate Simonds (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) got the start in the home opener for Bluffton, turning in a strong performance en route to his second win of the young season.

He gave up two runs in the second inning before holding the Quakers’ bats in check for the majority of the game. Simonds (2-1) threw seven innings, giving up just four earned runs while striking out eight.

David Ianiro (Highland Heights/Mayfield) made his first appearance on the mound for the Beavers this year, closing out the game and earning the save.

Bluffton fell behind 2-0 in the second inning before putting up a crooked number in the bottom of the third. That inning opened with a free pass to Jeff Roth (Bellevue). He went to third on a single by senior captain Kyle Niermann (Napoleon).

After Anthony Cianci (Ravenna/Southeast) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Miles Richardson (Granville/Newark Catholic) came through in a big way, smacking a single and driving in Roth and Niermann.

Cianci came around to score when Richardson stole second base. A single by Tim Webb (Delaware/Worthington Christian) plated Richardson to round out the scoring for the inning, putting the Beavers ahead 4-2.

Bluffton added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a triple from Cianci. His three-bagger scored Ianiro, who started the game in left field. Cianci crossed the dish on a wild pitch.

The Beavers added another insurance run in the sixth inning courtesy of an RBI single by Jake Townley (Mansfield/Madison).

Bluffton allowed two runs to the Quakers in the seventh and one in the eighth, but held on for the win. Richardson, Franks, Ianiro, and Townley led the way for the Beavers, all tallying two hits in the game. Webb and Cianci both added an RBI for the victors.

With the win in the home opener at Memorial Field, Bluffton improved to 8-3, marking the best start through 11 games since 1988 when they also posted eight wins in their first 11. Wilimington slipped to 3-7 with the loss.

The Beavers will be off tomorrow as the doubleheader with Oberlin has been postponed until Monday, April 1, due to the weather. Bluffton will travel to Albion on Tuesday, March 19 for a 4:15 p.m. contest with the Britons.

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