Coach Heather Bruder	Brooke Babcock	Lindsey Miller

     The Bluffton University softball team earned a share of its third Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title since joining the HCAC and first since the Beavers were regular season champions in 2004. After dropping both ends of their doubleheader to Rose-Hulman on March 29, the Beavers rolled off 13 conference victories in 14 tries to finish the season 25-15 overall and 13-3 in the HCAC.
      2008 has been a record-setting year for the Bluffton softball team. Leading the way is junior shortstop Lindsey Miller, a three-time HCAC Hitter of the Week this season and all-HCAC performer in 2007. The first mark to fall during her season-long assault on the record books was the single-season home run mark. She pounded her sixth long ball of the year before the Beavers opened conference play and currently leads the HCAC with 10 homers. She ranks at or near the top of the conference in batting average, RBI, runs scored, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. She and freshman Mollie Brown both eclipsed the Bluffton single-season mark of 48 hits.
       The top three run producers in the conference are all Beavers. Miller, Jayme Marbaugh and Brooke Babcock have driven in 44, 32 and 30 runs respectively. Brown now holds the Bluffton record for runs scored and leads the HCAC with 41. As a team, the 2008 edition of the Beavers set records in RBI, total bases, runs scored, hits, doubles and home runs. Since Coach Bruder took over at Bluffton two years ago, the Bluffton softball team’s batting average has risen 75 points, while 2008 opponents are batting 20 points less than they did in 2007.

2008 BLUFFTON SOFTBALL ROSTER

No.	Name		Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown (Last School)
 1 	Katie Welch 	Fr. 	U 	5-5 	Berne, Ind. (South Adams)
 2	Tiffany Buckmaster 	Fr. 	2B 	5-0	Lima, Ohio (Bath)
 3 	Gretchen Handley 	Sr. 	C/OF 	5-6 	Ashland, Ohio (Ashland)
 5 	Brooke Babcock 	So. 	P/2B 	5-4 	Findlay, Ohio (Findlay)
 6 	Abby Snider 	Fr. 	OF/3B 	5-5	Wapakoneta, Ohio (Wapakoneta)
 8 	Allison White 	Jr. 	OF 	5-4 	Lima, Ohio (Shawnee)
 9 	Kayla Williams 	Fr. 	1B 	5-4 	Elida, Ohio (Elida)
11 	Lindsey Miller 	Jr. 	SS 	5-6 	Wapakoneta, Ohio (Wapakoneta)
12 	Torrie Wilson 	Fr. 	OF 	5-4 	Delphos, Ohio (Jefferson)
15 	Amanda Harris 	Sr. 	1B 	5-6 	Arcanum, Ohio (Arcanum)
16 	Mollie Brown 	Fr. 	OF 	5-4 	Fishers, Ind. (Hamilton Southeastern)
17 	Alyssa Simon 	Fr. 	1B 	5-10	Carey, Ohio (Vanlue)
18 	Tonya Dean 	Sr. 	OF 	5-5 	Kettering, Ohio (Fairmont)
22 	Alisha Yeager 	So. 	SS/3B 	5-5 	Oregon, Ohio (Clay)
26 	Jayme Marbaugh 	So. 	3B/C 	5-5 	Ohio City, Ohio (Parkway)
33 	Kellie Kenney 	Jr. 	P 	5-5 	Toledo, Ohio (Emmanuel Baptist)
Head Coach: Heather Bruder (Alma ‘99)
Assistant Coach: Lisa Shepard (Northwood ’06)