BLUFFTON, Ohio, – The Earlham College baseball team hit a combined six home runs and two grand slams in a split with Bluffton University to continue Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Monday.
GAME ONE: EARLHAM 19 BLUFFTON 11
Dillon Fischer earned the win in game one after starting and going five complete innings with seven earned runs and six strikeouts.
Phoenix Guzzi was credited with a save after throwing four innings in relief with five strikeouts and two earned runs.
Offensively,
Max Fries led the Quakers with three hits, two home runs, a double, six RBI and three runs scored.
Reece Zonts had four RBI with a homer and two runs scored.
Nate Whetstine hit his first career home run, and had three RBI with two runs scored.
Sean Jeffries hit a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning for an early 1-0 lead for the Quakers. Bluffton responded with three runs in the bottom of the first frame.
In the top of the second inning, the Quakers scored four runs off of two, two-run homers. Bluffton responded with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.
Jeffries recorded an RBI on a single with the bases loaded in the top of the third inning, and Fries brought home all three runners on a grand slam. Then in the top of the fourth inning, Guzzi reached on a sacrifice bunt that scored two runs after a throwing error by the Beavers. Whetstine then singled to bring Guzzi home.
Bluffton scored on a sac fly in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Guzzi earned a walk to bring in a run in the top of the fifth, and Bluffton scored on an RBI double in the bottom of the inning.
After two singles to start the sixth,
Quin Adelson earned a walk to load the bases for a grand slam by Zonts. Trailing 18-7, Bluffton scored five runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth.
Drew Sale scored the final run of the game with a solo homer in the top of the seventh inning.
GAME TWO: EARLHAM 7 BLUFFTON 8
Braeden Lewis started on the mound for game two and threw three innings with seven hits and five strikeouts.
David Lally scored three strikeouts in two innings of relief work.
Jeffries led the squad at the plate in game two with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored.
Jonathan Jimenez earned an RBI on an infield groundout for a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Bluffton added two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Jeffries brought in a run on a single up the middle in the top of the third inning. Bullis hit a sac fly in the third inning for a 3-2 EC lead.
Bluffton plated four runs on six hits in the bottom of the fourth inning. Leading 6-3, the Beavers scored two more runs in the sixth inning.
Earlham plated two runs in the top of the seventh inning without registering a hit after two walks and an error.
Jeffries hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning, and Guzzi brought home a run on a single in the ninth inning. Trailing by one with runners on first and second, two straight Quaker batters struck out to end the game.
Earlham will be back in action with a three-game series at Mount St. Joseph next weekend. The first matchup is set for 6 pm on Friday.
