Betts picks up career strikeout record, team ties for most HCAC victories in a season
By Ben Risinger, SID
April 27, 2004
The Bluffton College softball team (26-6, 12-2 HCAC) had another good week as they became the 2004 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champions with their lone defeat of Defiance College last Thursday. Bluffton’s rival Defiance gave the team a rough time as they lost the first game of the doubleheader 3-2. The loss jump started the Beavers as they came right back with a 9-1 victory to eight-run rule the Yellow Jackets. On Saturday the team showed first-game jitters again as Anderson University took Bluffton into extra-innings. The Beavers would not be outdone this time and won 1-0 in nine innings. The second game went much like the Defiance contest as Bluffton would win 8-0 in five innings. The two wins tied Bluffton with Transylvania University for the most Heartland Conference victories in a season at twelve.
The Beavers will participate in the Heartland Conference softball tournament this Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis, Ind. The tournament will be held on the west-side of Indianapolis at the Chuck Klein Sports Complex. Bluffton has secured a first-round bye with the conference championship, beginning action on Friday afternoon. Tournament pairings have not yet been determined. Please check back to www.bluffton.edu/sports for more information as it becomes available.
Sophomore Sarah Betts (Bryan/Bryan) had a record breaking week as she became the Bluffton College career strikeout leader on Saturday afternoon. She now has thrown 381 career strikeouts to date, breaking the former record of 365 held by Erin Kurtz who played from 1997-2000. Betts has now faced 687 batters for the season, posting 255 strikeouts. She has pitched 192 innings, allowing only 99 hits, 34 walks and 42 runs. She leads the Heartland Conference in ERA (0.73), opposing batting average (.144), innings pitched (192), batters struck out (255), batters struck out looking (55), wins (25), appearances (30) and games started (30). Betts ranks nationally in NCAA Division III in strikeouts per seven innings, victories and ERA.
Junior Allison Lange (Archbold/Archbold) saw her batting average rise again as she now hits .545 for the season. She leads the team in every batting category including runs (28), hits (48), doubles (14), triples (2), five home runs, total bases (81), slugging percentage (.920) and RBI’s (27). Lange leads the HCAC total hits, batting average, slugging percentage and on base percentage. Lange ranks nationally in NCAA Division III in batting average and slugging percentage. Mandy Snider (.345), Carrie Weisbecker (.333) and Lane Leedy (.305) all post batting averages of .300 or better. Junior catcher Michelle Pleiman (Yorkshire/Minster) leads the Beavers with only four errors in 282 putouts for the season for a .987 fielding percentage.
As a team, the Beavers post a .284 batting average and .370 slugging percentage. Bluffton shows 54 errors defensively for a .936 fielding percentage.
