Box Score BLUFFTON, Ohio — Unearned runs hurt the Earlham College baseball team on Tuesday as the Quakers fell 8-7 at Bluffton University.

Bluffton (13-13, 6-5) scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest to take the lead for good.

The Beavers grabbed an early advantage with a pair of runs in the second inning before the Quakers were able to respond in the fourth.

A triple by Chris Tillery (Carmel, IN, Carmel) with the bases loaded erased the deficit and put the Quakers on top. During the play, Tillery also scored thanks to a Bluffton error and the Quakers led 4-2.

After Bluffton scored in the bottom of the fourth, Tillery knocked in the next Earlham run in the fifth on a fielder's choice as it gave the Quakers a 5-3 lead.

In the sixth, Ted Williams (Harper Woods, MI, Grosse Pointe North) had a RBI triple and Ryan Hayes (New Lebanon, OH, Dixie) followed with a double that scored Earlham's final tally.

Bluffton scored once in the seventh to make it 7-4 before the Beavers put together the winning rally in the eighth.

Sam Ward (Bay Village, OH, Bay) singled for Earlham in the ninth inning, but the Quakers could not bring him home.

Blake Welch (Lynn, IN, Randolph Southern) led the Quakers with three hits, while Williams and Ward added two hits each.

T. J. Plummer (Aurora, IN, South Dearborn) started on the mound for the Quakers and left the contest with two outs in the fifth. Zach Lee (Lynn, IN, Randolph Southern) finished that frame before giving way to Justin Broach (Centerville, OH, Centerville), Colton Miller (Auburn, IN, Dekalb) and Caleb Brown (Newark, OH, Granville).

Miller (1-3) took the loss as he was charged with the four unearned runs in the eighth.

The Quakers (12-13, 2-9) are back in action on Friday as they entertain Defiance College in a 9-inning affair on John Cate Field at McBride Stadium. The HCAC game begins at 6 p.m.

Box Score