Softball team swept by Bluffton, 10-8 and 3-2

BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Olivet College softball team was swept by Bluffton University in a non-conference doubleheader this afternoon in Bluffton, Ohio. The Beavers came-from-behind to win the games, 10-8 and 3-2.

In the first game, Olivet plated four runs on five hits in the top half of the first inning. The big hit in the inning was a two-run home run by junior Carrie Chamberlain. Bluffton answered with three runs in the home half of the first. The Comets got those runs back in the second inning on a solo home run by sophomore Larissa Ludwick and a two-run home run by sophomore Konnor Geiger.

Bluffton answered with five runs in its half of the second inning to go back up 8-7. Olivet tied the game at 8-8 in the fifth inning when junior Taylor Smith blasted a home run over the fence in center field. The Beavers came right back to score what proved to be the winning runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning. The Comets left two runners on the bases in both the fifth and sixth innings.

At the plate, Chamberlain and Ludwick both went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI. Junior Ashlynn Grubb was 2-for-4, while Geiger was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. Chamberlain was the losing pitcher after giving up all 10 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits in five innings. Grubb threw a hitless inning of relief.

In the nightcap, the Comets scored their only two runs in the third inning. Freshman Dominique McKillop lined a double into the left-center field gap. Sophomore Haley Reed walked and when the ball got away from the catcher on ball four, McKillop went to third base. Reed then stole second base, and Grubb reached on an infield single to load the bases. Ludwick then lined two-single into the right-center field alley to score McKillop and Reed.

Olivet left two runners stranded on the bases in the fifth inning and another runner was left in scoring position in the sixth inning. Bluffton scored its three runs in the bottom half of the sixth on a three-run home run. The Comets had the tying run on base in the seventh but failed to push across the run.

At the plate, Geiger went 2-for-3 with two doubles. Four other players each had one hit. Grubb was hard-luck loser in the circle, as she yielded the three runs on five hits. She struck out eight batters and walked two.

The Comets return to the field Saturday when they open Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play with a doubleheader at Hope College. First pitch from game one at Walters Stadium in Holland is scheduled for 1 p.m.