In the first game at Oberlin, BC overcame a 6-4 deficit with five runs in the fourth inning as the Beavers finished with a season-high 15 hits in the game. Junior Brad Buckingham collected four of those hits and knocked in three runs as sophomore Wes Hall pitched the final four innings to pick up his first collegiate victory. Sophomore Tony Boenker added a double and a single for BC.
Bluffton took control early of the second game with 10 runs in the first three innings. Junior Ben Schwab and freshman Kyle Alberson both homered, while senior Bill Bechtel picked up the win on the mound and combined with sophomore Eric Humpal to strike out eight batters.
At Hanover last Friday, Bluffton scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a 5-4 lead, but the hosts answered with two runs of their own in their last at-bat to steal a 6-5 win away from the Beavers. BC fell 6-1 and 11-5 on Saturday to see their overall record slip to 2-12. Buckingham, senior Luke Habegger and junior Todd Pickthorn all collected four hits each over the weekend.
Buckingham’s .438 batting average leads the squad, while freshman Dan Crider is close behind with a .417 average. Schwab (.308) and Habegger (.302) both have fine averages, as well, and Pickthorn leads the team with 11 RBIs. Freshmen Bob Heitkamp and Josh Underwood lead the pitching staff in earned run average, while Bechtel’s 21 innings pitched is tops.
