Defiance Beats Bluffton
DEFIANCE, OHIO – The Defiance College softball team swept Bluffton University in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play by winning game one, 1-0 and game two, 4-2 at Sal Hench Field.
DEFIANCE, OHIO – The Defiance College softball team swept Bluffton University in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play by winning game one, 1-0 and game two, 4-2 at Sal Hench Field.
In game one, the scoring remained idle until the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore Paige Huttenlocker (Jackson, Mich. /Grass Lake) scored on a wild pitch. The Yellow Jackets (12-14, 3-3 HCAC) held the Beavers (12-14, 0-4 HCAC) the remaining two innings to earn the 1-0 shutout victory.
DC had two hits coming from senior Megan Pleskovic (Strongsville) and sophomore Keri Hupp (Louisville). In the circle, sophomore Sarah Kaya (Lorain/Clearview) pitched the complete game and recorded the win after giving up no runs off of six hits and sitting down three batters.
The Yellow Jackets kept the momentum going in game two by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the early 2-0 lead. Freshman Jordan Osborne (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) crossed home off an error from the defense. Junior Megan Warren (Mason) then doubled to right center field that allowed sophomore Kaity Kuhn (Celina) to score the second run of the inning.
The Beavers answered with a run of their own in the top of the third to close the gap 2-1. The fourth inning remained scoreless and in the fifth when Bluffton scored one more to even the score at 2-2. Defiance regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth after sophomore Haley Patty (Bradford) hit a RBI-single that scored Huttenlocker and Pleskovic hit a RBI-single to score Patty. The Yellow Jacket defense held the Beavers the final two innings and walked away with the sweep by a final score of 4-2.
Defiance recorded 10 hits coming from the bats of eight Yellow Jackets. Kuhn and Pleskovic both recorded multi-hit games with Kuhn hitting two doubles, and scored one run while Pleskovic went two-of-three (.667 avg.) with one run batted in.
At pitcher, freshman Jamie Kimbler (Huber Heights/Wayne) got the start and a no-decision after allowing two runs while striking out two batters in four and one-third innings of work. Kaya pitched two and two-thirds innings and received the win after allowing no hits, no runs and sitting down two batters.
Defiance will return to action on Saturday, Apr. 16 when they travel to Anderson, Ind. to face Anderson (Ind.) University in HCAC play. The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.