By RYAN WALKER
Bluffton whistled by Adams Central to only three strokes in its first match of the season on Tuesday.
The Tigers got new varsity head coach Adam Atkins his first win with a score of 182-185 over the Jets.
Atkins, who served as an assistant for Steve Abbett (now the assistant), will certainly take the victory considering bad weather has halted any practice time.
“I was happy with how it went,” Atkins said. “We haven’t been out to practice — we had one practice from 50 yards in. I didn’t really know what to expect score-wise, and things went well. We’ve got a launching pad to go from now.”
His task will be tough at the start, as he’ll need to fine replacements for last year’s sectional champion Keegan Schwartz and the Tigers’ No. 2 Ephraim Frauhiger. The two, among a solid supporting cast, led Bluffton to an ACAC title and fourth-place finish at the sectional, just three strokes behind a regional qualification.
“We lost our top two,” Atkins said. “We’re relying heavy on our returners. That’ll be Declan Grieser, Conner Klopfenstein and Kade Abbett. We have some new faces coming in — a couple young guys that can come in and step up and make a big role.”
Grieser is already off to a nice start to the year, scoring a 38 and earning the medalist of the match. Abbett scored a 46 and Klopfenstein 50.
The new faces to the lineup Tuesday night were Anthony Hartman and Kyler Potter. Hartman made a solid appearance on varsity, shooting a 48 overall. That would be good for third-best on the Tigers. Potter scored a 54 in his debut.
Atkins said that his top three guys are pretty set in stone, but the back end of the lineup will have its share of shakeups throughout this year.
Potter, with five others on junior varsity, will have the opportunity to scrap for starting position. For reference, here are the JV scores from Tuesday in Bluffton’s 218-238 defeat:
Max White (49), Christian Castaneda (59), Landon Crist (62), Hutch Craighead (68) and Connor Collins (71).
“I think our 4/5 position is going to shuffle a lot this year depending on how things are going, who’s playing well, things like that,” Atkins said.
In the alternatives match, Will Ault finished with a 50 and Graham Linderwell a 66.
Bluffton will host Blackford and Marion at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 11.
