Baseball runs win streak to five games with 12-4 victory over area-rival Bluffton

Baseball runs win streak to five games with 12-4 victory over area-rival Bluffton
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Team Stats

April 25, 2024

ADA — The Ohio Northern baseball team extended its winning streak to five games with a 12-4 non-conference victory over area-rival Bluffton on a sunny Thursday afternoon.  

The Basics

  • Records: Ohio Northern (19-14 overall), Bluffton (9-24 overall).
  • Venue: Wander Field - Ada Ohio.

Game Highlights

  • Northern scored in six of its eight at-bats to pull away for the win.
  • The Beavers scored an unearned run in the top of the first, but the Polar Bears answered with a run in the first and two more in the second to lead 3-1.
  • BU got within 3-2 with a run in the top of the fourth, but ONU scored three times in the bottom of the inning to lead 6-2.
  • Ohio Northern got two more in the fifth to lead 8-2.
  • Bluffton got a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, but again Northern answered with a 3-run bottom of the frame to lead 11-4.
  • Sophomore Chase Armstrong (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) was 2-for-2 with 3 walks, 3 runs scored and two RBI to lead the Ohio Northern offense.
  • Junior Joe Tootle (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) allowed just three hits and no earned runs while striking out 6 in 5.0 innings on the mound to earn the win and improve to 4-0 on the season.
  • ONU out-hit BU 11-7.

Notables

  • Ohio Northern entered the game after posting three consecutive shutouts and had not allowed a run in 33.2 innings.
  • Bluffton scored with two out in the top of the first, ending the scoreless streak at 34.1 innings.
  • Junior Joey Kennedy (Sterling Heights, Mich./Foley Catholic), junior Sam Sells (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) and junior Andrew Stechschulte (Findlay) lead the team in hitting through 33 games with averages of .394, .364 and .336, respectively.
  • Stechschulte leads the team with 44 hits and is tied with Armstrong for the team lead with 6 home runs each.
  • Armstrong also leads the squad with 14 doubles, 41 RBI and a .627 slugging percentage.
  • Ohio Northern is now 103-42-6 all-time against Bluffton, including a 62-19-2 record at home and a 26-7 mark at Wander Field.
  • Ohio Northern is in its 119th season of baseball. The Polar Bears are 1460-1151 all-time, a winning percentage of .559.
  • 13th-year head coach Gene Stechschulte is now 272-203 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .573.

Up Next

  • The Polar Bears will return to action on Saturday afternoon with a 1 pm OAC double header at Mount Union.