Baseball Game Preview: Wabash Apaches vs. Bluffton Tigers

The Wabash Apaches are taking a road trip to face off against the Bluffton Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Last Monday, Wabash didn't have quite enough to beat Oak Hill and fell 5-4.

Derek Reed was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one triple and one run. That triple marked the first that he hit this season. Another player making a difference was Carter Booth, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, Bluffton made easy work of Manchester on Tuesday and carried off a 13-5 victory. Considering the Tigers have won three games by more than seven runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

The team relied heavily on Trevor Smith, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5. He is becoming a predictor of Bluffton's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Axton Beste was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI.

Bluffton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Bluffton pushed their record up to 4-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Wabash, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

Wabash took their win against Bluffton when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 23-13 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Apaches since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.