Baseball Edges Rival Bluffton

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  Sophomore Quinten Harrington (Sandusky/Perkins) recorded a pair of hits in addition to scoring two runs and a RBI as the Defiance College baseball team beat Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Bluffton University, 6-4, in a single nine-inning game at Craig A. Rutter Field.

Defiance (12-11, 7-8 HCAC) opened the flood gates early scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning that included a RBI double by Harrington and a sacrifice flyout by junior Royce Laurendeau (Clyde).  The Yellow Jackets added to their lead in the fifth with another run courtesy of a defensive error that allowed Harrington to score to make the margin 5-0.  Bluffton (17-11, 10-6 HCAC) ended the possible shutout in the top of the sixth with a two-run homerun and narrowed the gap to 5-2.  The Beavers edged closer the very next inning by crossing home plate two more times to pull to within a run, 5-4.  But DC got a crucial insurance run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to another defensive error that put the Jackets up 6-4.  In the ninth inning, Bluffton got the tying runs on base and with only one out.  Freshman pitcher Jacob Green (Defiance) started the ninth on the hill and following the second Beaver single, got the final two outs of the game on a strikeout and groundout to seal the two-run victory.

The Jacket bats accounted for eight hits in the game led by Harrington's two-for-three effort.  Senior Ian Burkhart (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) also finished two-of-three and junior Ben Weber (Troy/Lehman Catholic) rounded out the multi-hitters going two-of-five with a run scored.  Senior Joel Musser (Center Line, Mich./Center Line) and junior Gary Levengood (Beverly Hills, Fla./Lecanto) also had base hits and both finished one-of-four.  Levengood also scored a pair of runs.

Sophomore Nick Peters (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) made his first start of the season after seeing the majority of his playing time this year as a relief pitcher.  Peters pitched six and two-thirds innings to claim the win and improve to 3-0 overall.  He allowed four runs, two earned, on 10 hits and struck out two batters.  Sophomore Nick Watkins (Lima/Central Catholic) came on to pitch an inning-and-a-third giving up no runs and just one hit, while striking out one batter.  Green got his second save of the season following an inning of relief that saw him strike out two hitters and gave up just two hits.

Defiance is scheduled to travel to Tiffin tomorrow (Wednesday, Apr. 15) for a non-conference single game against Heidelberg University.  The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.