BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Earlham College softball team opened conference play with a sweep at Bluffton University on Sunday afternoon.
GAME ONE: EARLHAM 11 BLUFFTON 7
Tatum Rickert earned the win in game one after tossing 4.1 innings with four strikeouts.
Shelby Messer tallied the final 2.2 innings with three strikeouts and no runs with just two hits.
Shelby Hill went 3-4 with two runs and two RBI, including a solo home run.
Cierra James went 2-4 with two RBI and a double.
After a one-out walk by
Mack Harvey in the top of the first inning,
Emmerie Stump hit her second home run of the season for a 2-0 Quaker lead.
Bo Shelton then walked and stole second before an RBI-single by Hill extended the lead.
Bluffton notched a run on a ground ball in the bottom of the second inning, but the Quakers responded with a run on an RBI-single by James in the top of the third.
Leading 4-2, Shelton launched a three-run homer to right field in the top of the fourth inning. Hill then made it back-to-back long balls with a solo shot to left.
The Beavers scored three runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth inning with three doubles in the frame. The hosts then walked in a run in the bottom of the fifth, and scored on an RBI-single with the bases loaded.
Hill sent a two-out single into left field, and scored on a double by James in the top of the sixth inning. The Quakers then added two runs on two hits in the top of the seventh inning.
GAME TWO: EARLHAM 14 BLUFFTON 4
Messer totalled 8.2 innings on the day with a complete game win in game two. The sophomore tallied five strikeouts and four earned runs with eight hits.
Drew Tubesing went 3-4 with two runs scored, one steal and one RBI. James went 2-2 with two runs scored, three RBI and a steal.
Stump repeated with a first-inning home run to lead 1-0, but the Beavers saw action in the bottom of the second inning with three runs on four hits.
Harvey earned an RBI with an outfield single in the top of the third inning for one run back, and the Beavers scored their final run of the game in the bottom of the third.
Earlham plated six runs with six hits in the top of the fourth inning after a leadoff walk by Shelton. Tubesing hit an RBI single, and stole second base before
Malaya Tanglao tied the game on a single to right field. James earned an RBI with a sacrifice fly for the first out of the inning before
Macie Ferguson looped a triple to the center field fence. With two runners on, Stump slipped a single through the right side of the infield for a run, and Shelton gave the Quakers an 8-4 lead with an RBI-double.
Two hits opened the top of the fifth inning for Earlham, and James brought both home with a single up the middle. The Quakers put runners on second and third with just one out, but were held off by the Beavers pitching.
Shelton walked and stole second base to open the sixth inning, and the junior scored on an error by the catcher after advancing on a fly ball by Hill.
Faith Butler stepped in as a pinch hitter with two runners on base, and scored two RBI with a single to center field.
The Quakers host Wittenberg University on Tuesday afternoon in Ellie Bewley Stadium. First pitch in the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 pm.
