Last week Bluffton split twinbills with Defiance College on Tuesday and league-leader Hanover College on Saturday to finish with a 7-5 record in the HCAC and an overall mark of 16-17. The Beavers will be looking for their third straight 20-win season this week and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Against Defiance, the visiting Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one inning and went on to post a 6-0 win in game one of the double header. Stacy Herr pitched all seven innings for BC, allowing just four earned runs and collecting four strikeouts. In the second game, Bluffton posted a five-run third inning on their way to a 9-1 victory behind three hits from Elizabeth Snavely and a three-run homerun from Jessica Spain. Emily Kurtz picked up her 11th win of the season in handling the pitching duties.
On Saturday, HCAC leader Hanover College visited Marbeck Field and the two teams battled into extra innings before Bluffton freshman Amber Fitzwater drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning to give BC a 3-2 win. Fitzwater collected four hits in the game as Kurtz tied a BC single season record with her 12th pitching win of the year. In the nightcap, Hanover scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to post a 3-2 comeback win despite three hits from Snavely and solid pitching performance from Herr, who allowed just six hits and two earned runs in seven innings of work.
Spain’s .320 average is tops on the squad, while Paula Fry (.318), Missy Neal (.316) and Snavely (.314, 16 RBIs) round out the offensive leaders.
