By: Colton Steiner

BLUFFTON, Ohio - With only a couple weeks of the regular season left, the Bluffton Beavers would host the Otterbein Cardinals on a windy day at Memorial Field. Despite having a lead through six innings, a fury of runs from the Cardinals allowed the visitors to hand the Beavers an 11-6 loss at home. Bluffton now sits at an overall record of 8-25, while Otterbein improves to 7-24 on the season. 

The Cardinals would get on the board first, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning to go up 2-0 in the second inning. In the bottom of the third, the Beavers would get some offense going and were able to even up the contest at 2-2. Bluffton would then take a 3-2 lead in the third after Zane Sarcheck (Sunbury, Ohio / Big Walnut) sneaked a single down the right field line to bring Drew Johnson (Bucyrus, Ohio / Wynford) home. The momentum would continue for the Beavers as they would get RBI singles from Brandon North (Hilliard, Ohio / Bradley) and Drew Johnson, increasing their lead to 5-2. That momentum would then shift as Otterbein would erupt for nine unanswered runs as they would go up 11-5 heading into the final frame of the game. Despite a Drew Johnson solo shot to right, Bluffton would be unble to mount a comeback, falling in a final score of 11-6. 

The offense for both teams would be prominant, with the Beavers having a slight 12-11 edge in total hits. Pacing Bluffton with an impressive 4-for-5 outing, including his first collegiate homerun of his career, was Drew Johnson, who tallied three RBIs and accounted for two of Bluffton's six runs. Also coming up big at the plate for the Beavers was Zane Sarcheck, going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while Jake McCoy (Milford) would record two singles in the contest. 

Jayce Emmitt (Columbus, Ind. / Columbus North) would start the day on the mound for Bluffton, going three innings and allowing three hits and giving up two earned runs. Taking the loss was William Nissen (Genoa), who falls to 0-1 on the season after giving up three runs off threee hits, while striking out a team-high three batters. 

The Beavers will play their final home game of the season on Saturday, Apr. 25, when they host the Hanover Panthers on Senior Day, starting at 12 p.m. Come out and support your Beavers and your seniors!

-Beavers-