Pitro Homers in Slugfest Loss at Bluffton

BLUFFTON, Ohio – Defiance College knocked in seven runs on 11 hits but could not keep pace with Bluffton, as the Beavers scored in five different innings and came away with the 16-7 win in the HCAC clash on Wednesday afternoon.

The lead changed hands several times in the early innings, with Defiance taking leads of 1-0 in the first, 4-2 in the third and 6-5 in the fifth. Bluffton would storm back each time however, and score twice in the second and three times in the third, before taking the lead for good with a four-spot in the bottom half of the fifth inning at 9-6.

The Beavers would blow the game open by tacking on three more runs in the sixth and plating four more in the seventh to take the 16-6 advantage. A single tally from DC in the eighth was too little and too late, as the Jackets suffered the 16-7 defeat.

Tim Pitro slugged his fourth home run of the season and went 2-5 at the plate with two runs and a pair of RBI to lead the DC attack. Pitro was joined by Mike Dushane (2-4), Braden Brugler (2-3) and Alex Timofeev (2-4) with multi-hit performances.

Defiance (6-25, 2-13 HCAC) will take the diamond once again on Friday, when it begins a three-game set at Anderson (18-13, 8-6 HCAC) with a chance to play the spoiler role for the upcoming HCAC Tournament. First pitch is set for 4:00 pm on Friday, with a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday.