The Bluffton University softball team kicked off Heartland Conference play with a pair of exciting walkoff wins over Rose-Hulman on a chilly Saturday, April 2, 2022. Bluffton improved to 8-10 overall and 2-0 in the Heartland Conference, while RHIT slipped to 11-5 and 0-2 in the HCAC.

Bluffton erased a 3-0 Rose lead in the bottom of the third when Madison Jones (West Milton/Milton Union) and Bobbi Adams (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) hit back-to-back dingers. The shot by Adams was still climbing when it cleared the scoreboard in left field!

The Beavers took advantage of a dropped popup in the bottom of the fourth, allowing Hayley Lewis (Kettering/Fairmont) and Taylor Shimp (St. Marys/Memorial) to cross the dish, before Jones doubled home Kryshel Dales (Defiance/Ayersville) for a 6-3 Bluffton lead.

Rose-Hulman scored twice in the fifth and once in the sixth before Dales put the Beavers up 7-6 in the bottom of the frame thanks to a wild pitch. The Engineers knotted it with a run on three hits in the top of the seventh, but sophomore Lexus Rutledge (Henderson, KY/Henderson County) ended it quickly in the home half when she smacked a Rose pitch off the scoreboard for an 8-7 walkoff victory!

Jones, Rutledge and Shimp finished with two hits apiece. Jones drove in three, while Dales scored twice.

Junior Erin Norman (Pleasant Hill/Newton) improved to 3-6 after going the distance in game one. She allowed seven runs, four earned, with four strikeouts and two walks in seven innings of work.

It was deja vu in game two when Rose-Hulman put a five spot on the board in the top of the first. The Engineers plated five unearned runs, four courtesy of a Phoebe Worstell grand slam.

Bluffton refused to fold the tents, however, and the home team bounced back with two RBI groundouts in the bottom of the first and three more tallies an inning later when Jones cleared the bases with a three-run double to the wall in right center.

It remained 5-5 until the bottom of the seventh when Shimp opened the inning with a base hit to center. An R-H error moved her to second with no outs and then Dales did her job with a sacrifice bunt that put Shimp and Lewis in scoring position, One out later, a wild pitch sent Shimp home with the game winner as the Beavers kicked off HCAC play with a sweep of the Engineers.

Lily Tate (Mount Gilead/Northmor) went 3-of-4 with two runs scored. Jones was 2-of-3 with three RBI and Adams added a pair of safeties in the nightcap.

Katie Fleshman (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) gave up five runs, but none earned in her three-inning start. Jones came on and worked four innings of two-hit scoreless relief, moving to 3-1 on the season. She fanned four baters and walked one.

Bluffton will be back at its home complex on Tuesday, April 5, when the Beavers welcome Albion College for a makuep set. Game one is slated for 3:30 p.m.