Fort Myers, FL – The Bluffton University baseball team finished off their spring break trip with a 5-3 victory over Rockford University. The Beavers improved to 3-6 on the season while the Regents dropped to 3-3.
Bluffton took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third when a Jeff Strayer (Columbus/Thomas Worthington) single would lead to Nick Diana (Batavia/West Clermont), Grant Hovest (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf), and Jake Baumgartner (Toledo/Start) crossing the dish. Rockford answered back in the top of the fourth to make the score 3-1. A wild pitch from the Regents plated Adam Yoh (Milford) followed by a tag up score from Diana to secure the 5-3 victory for Bluffton.
Garrett O'Reilly (Galena/Orange) saw his second start on the mound, throwing four innings of five pitch and one strikeout ball. Jacob Daulton (Batavia) picked up the win for the game with his two innings of two hit and two strikeout relief. Tallying his second save for the season and securing the victory for the Beavers was Seth Evans (Ada/OSU-Lima) in one inning of no-hit closing. The Bluffton offense was fueled by Hovest, hitting a perfect 3-for-3. Jack Towell (Batavia/West Clermont), Strayer, and Baumgartner each got one RBI apiece.
The Beavers will head back to Bluffton and take a week to regroup before hitting the dirt again on Saturday, March 19th in a double header against Ohio Wesleyan. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Memorial Field. Make sure to come out and support the Beavers in their 2022 season home opener. Go Beavers!