Baseball takes one game from Manchester in HCAC series
By Ben Risinger, SID
April 5, 2004
The Bluffton College baseball team (5-16, 1-5 HCAC) picked up a win last week on Saturday vs. Manchester 4-1 to break a seven game losing streak. The Beavers lost to 14-9 to Cedarville University in 11 innings last Thursday and dropped the lone game on Friday at Manchester, 10-4. On Saturday the team was back at home to finish the Manchester series as they picked up game one (4-1) and lost game two 10-1.
Junior Ryan Fiely (Greenville/Greenville Sr.) continues to lead the Beavers in several offensive categories. Fiely posts a team high batting average at .384, hits (28), runs (14), doubles (6) and total bases (49). Senior Kyle Alberson (Berne, Ind./South Adams) also helps lead Bluffton offensively in runs (14), home runs (6, leads HCAC), RBI’s (21) and slugging percentage at .677 for the year. Both Alberson and Fiely are among the Heartland Conference leaders in hitting for the season.
Senior Josh Underwood (Bluffton/Cory-Rawson) currently posts a 3.18 ERA for the season with a 4-1 record on the mound. His stats include 21 hits, 11 walks and 25 strikeouts for the season. He has faced 158 batters in 39.2 innings pitched, allowing only 42 hits for the year. Underwood currently ranks sixth in the HCAC with his 3.18 ERA and second in innings pitched.
The Beavers show a .255 batting average (.378 slugging percentage) as a team for the season with 48 errors for a .930 fielding percentage. The pitching staff combines for a 7.39 ERA from the mound with 81 total strikeouts for a .333 opponent batting average.
Bluffton College will be back in action this Tuesday for a single nine inning game at Capital University. Start time is scheduled for 4 pm. The Beavers will be back in HCAC action on Friday when they host rival Defiance College for a single game (3 pm start). On Saturday the team will travel to Defiance for a doubleheader to finish the series. Start time for the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.
