April 5, 2016
BLUFFTON, Ohio - For the second straight Tuesday, Earlham College used a scintillating pitching performance from freshman Walter Talcott to stymie the Bluffton University baseball team at Memorial Field. Earlham improved to 16-5 and 6-3 in the Heartland Conference with the 6-1 win, while Bluffton fell to 6-15 and 1-7 in the HCAC. Talcott went the distance in a 6-0 shutout just one week ago.
With two outs in the top of the second, Earlham took advantage of a Bluffton error on a slow grounder to second and a blooper to short right to go up 2-0 thanks to a pair of unearned runs. A Brennan Laird leadoff homer and an RBI single by Brandon Smalling pushed the score to 4-0 in the middle of the third.
Jason Colliver (Beavercreek) singled home Jeff Arnett (Tecumseh, Mich./Tecumseh) in the bottom of the third to make it 4-1, but the Quakers added a tally in the sixth and another in the ninth following a hit batter with the bases juiced for a 6-1 final.
Travis Clark (Lima/Central Catholic) dropped his first decision of the year after allowing four runs, two earned, on five hits in 3.2 innings of work. Taylor Gambrell (Bowling Green) and Brantley Curnutte (Hilliard/Davidson) combined for 4.1 innings of one-run ball. Gambrell fanned two and Curnutte set down three Quakers. James Watkins (Lexington) gave up one run on one hit in the ninth inning.
Blake Fox (Berne. Ind./South Adams) went 2-of-3 with a pair of singles.
Talcott scattered five hits in his second complete-game victory over the Beavers in eight days. He needed just 98 pitches, tossing 69 strikes while fanning six Beavers. He did not issue a free pass and has given up just one paltry run to the Beavers in 18 innings of work.
Bluffton stays in Allen County for three more games this weekend when the Beavers welcome Mount St. Joseph to Memorial Field for their next Heartland Conference series. The lidlifter is slated for 4:15 p.m. on Friday, April 8.
-BEAVERS-