By RYAN WALKER
Heritage came into Bluffton and stole everything the Tigers wanted right out of their hands Wednesday night.
All the Tigers needed was a win to secure the ACAC title for the first time since 2009, but the Patriots bashed their way to a 14-1 victory to put an end to those hopes.
Bluffton, now 11-6 and 5-1 after its final conference game, made mistakes on the mound and defensively. Eight of the 14 runs scored were not off of the Heritage (13-2, 3-0 ACAC) sticks. It was passed balls, missed pickoff throws to first base, a throwing error and even a steal home.
Heritage did bat the ball around too — 11 hits in five innings, including a trio of doubles and a three-run blast by Andrew Mirelez, but the self-inflicted wounds came early and often.
“I think the 12-2 record that (the Patriots) bring in, and you’re playing a good team like that-that’s not going to make those kinds of mistakes and is very well coached, we just got lazy and slept in some areas,” Bluffton head coach Jason Pierce said.
Heritage’s starting pitcher didn’t help the Tigers either. The future Indiana Tech Warrior sat mid-80s on the radar gun and even hit 87 miles per hour. He struck out eight Tigers in his five innings of work, allowing four hits and the one run that came by way of a passed ball of his own.
The senior entered the night with a 3-0 record and a 1.62 ERA. He all but solidified himself as the conference’s best pitcher. But Bluffton did have some bites at the apple in the game.
In the first inning, Noah Redmond took one of those 87 mph heaters and plunked the freshman and leadoff hitter Axton Beste, who reached third but was stranded there.
In the second, A.J. Streveler and Eli Garrett knocked the first hits for the Tigers, later scoring that one run. But the runners on first and third threat ended without putting up a curly number.
“We had Noah kind of missing the zone. We were in his head a little bit,” Pierce said. “You could tell he was a little uncomfortable. We did not capitalize on that. I thought our approach overall at the plate, outside of watching some third strike calls, I thought we had a pretty good approach with (Redmond).”
By the third time through the batting order, Bluffton was hurt by a 6-1 deficit and Redmond went to work, striking out three in a row. That led to the eight-run fourth inning to break the contest wide open.
“I felt like once when we got down, I literally felt like we just folded,” Pierce said.
The only other time the Tigers had anything going was Lukas Gehrett’s double to deep left field, bouncing right on the warning track. He remained at second until the final out was recorded and was stuck at second.
On the mound for Bluffton, Braxton Betancourt went three innings and allowed eight runs and struck out seven.
Bluffton’s disappointing loss to the Patriots doesn’t necessarily mean the end of their run for the conference. Heritage controls its own path now, but due to weather, games have been postponed to later dates. The Patriots still have Jay County, Adams Central and South Adams on the schedule.
Bluffton finished with a 5-1 record, and if the Patriots, and any other team, finishes 5-1, they’ll split the championship. But if Heritage wins all three games, it’ll win it outright.
It also doesn’t mean that the Tigers have anything to play for. The sectional draw gave them and their opponent, South Adams, a first-round bye. The winner earns a spot in the championship.
Pierce would like to take a loss to Heritage and learn from it in hopes to earning a different trophy by year’s end.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to Heritage. It’s a great baseball team,” Pierce said. “Hopefully, it’s a little bit of humble pie for us to realize that ‘Hey, we need to start pulling our socks up a little bit tighter and making sure that we’re focused every time we step into the gate … I hope tonight comes back to benefit us in that situation.’”
Bluffton will host St. Mary’s this Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m., May 11.
ryan@news-banner.com
