BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team saw three members recognized by the Heartland Conference coaches following its first berth in the HCAC Tournament since 2015. Collecting First Team All-HCAC was Newcomer of the Year Leah Ramirez (Elida), while fellow sophomores Madison Brentlinger (Indian Lake) and Grace Gronberg (Danville) took home Second Team All-Heartland Conference hardware.
Ramirez was a swiss army knife for Head Coach Paige Jansen as she was able to play any infield position or serve as the DP if that is what it took to field the strongest lineup. Her bat was a key component in Bluffton's best season in over a decade. She hit .410 with 11 home runs (tied for 1st in the HCAC and 2nd all-time at Bluffton) and 41 RBI (4th in the conference and 4th all-time at Bluffton). Ramirez scored 34 times which is tied for 12th all-time at Bluffton. She tied school records with two homers and four runs scored in a single game. Slugging a whopping .752 (3rd in the HCAC and 5th all time at Bluffton), Ramirez tallied 88 total bases which are 8th all-time for a single season.
Despite finishing just her first season, Ramirez is already 10th on the career list with the 11 dingers. And once she has the requisite 150 at bats to qualify for the career lists in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, she will be in the top five for those categories as well.
Leading the Beavers with a .411 batting average that was in the top 10 for the Heartland Conference, Brentlinger proved to be a great addition at the top of the lineup. She smashed Jess Kuzara's school record (43) with 51 runs scored which was just one away from top honors in the Heartland. Brentlinger rapped 53 hits (8th in the conference) which are 7th all-time for a single season. She finished the year with seven doubles, 14 walks, a .473 on-base percentage and flashed the leather at second base with a .963 fielding percentage.
Showing off her talent on both sides of the ball, Gronberg was Bluffton's ace and she hit a way-more-than-respectable .373 for the Beavers. Gronberg won 14 games (4th all-time) and made 26 appearances (tied for 6th all-time). Her 23 games started, 132 innings pitched, 104 strikeouts and three shutouts are all top-10 all-time for a season. She is 3rd all-time on the career list with 6.06 strikeouts per seven innings, while her 21 wins are already 9th all-time.
Gronberg helped herself at the plate with five doubles, four homers (2nd on the team), 21 RBI and 18 runs scored. She slugged .578 and had a .424 on-base percentage. Her seven homers are currently 18th all-time on the career list.
Head Coach Paige Jansen and first-year Assistant Coach Mitchell Baker directed a Bluffton squad that put together monstrous offensive numbers this season. The .396 on-base percentage is 2nd all-time, while Bluffton's .322 batting average and .461 slugging percentage are both 3rd all-time. Numbers which are also top 5 all-time are 231 RBI, 269 runs, 24 homers, 65 doubles and 353 hits.
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