BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Earlham College baseball team completed a weekend sweep of Bluffton University with a 15-2 win in seven innings on Saturday.
Cayman Huntsman threw 5.2 scoreless innings with five hits and five strikeouts for the win.
Garret Odey,
Vincent Witte and
Christopher Snider tallied two strikeouts and one earned run in the final 1.1 frames.
Noah Wagster went 2-4 with two runs scored.
Jonathan Jimenez tallied two hits, both doubles, and two runs.
Jackson McFarland went 1-3 with three RBI and a run scored.
Jimenez hit a one-out double in the top of the first inning, and advanced on a wild pitch. McFarland then brought home the first run of the game with an RBI on a fielder's choice in the infield.
Dylan Rieck reached safely as the leadoff batter in the second inning, and kicked off a four-run frame after scoring on a double by
Evan Duncan.
Sean Jeffries brought in a pair of runs on a second consecutive double for a 4-0 lead. Jeffries scored on a single by
Mitchell Roether for the final run of the frame. The Quakers earned two walks to load the bases with two outs, but Rieck hit a lineout to end the inning.
Rieck led off a seven-run fifth inning with a walk, and advanced on a wild pitch.
Chris Barnett laid down a bunt with two runners on base, and both Rieck and Wagster scored after a throwing error by the pitcher. Roether earned a one-out walk to bring in the third run of the inning before McFarland added to the damage with a two-run single down the right field line.
Austin Dick brought in a run with a double down the left line, and Rieck put a ball to deep left field for a sacrifice fly to score McFarland and give the Quakers a 12-0 lead.
The Beavers put two runners on base in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Earlham turned to Odey with two outs. The right-handed reliever dispatched a Bluffton pinch hitter with a strikeout on four pitches to get out of the jam.
With one out and two runners on base in the top of the seventh,
Milan Desai came in to pinch hit, and launched his first career home run to left field.
The Beavers scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the seventh inning.
With today's win, Earlham is now in sole possession of first place in the HCAC standings with a 9-1 conference record.
The Quakers host Principia College for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday in Sadler Stadium. Conference action returns this weekend with Berea College coming to town for a three-game series. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 12 pm.
