Bluffton Will Play Baseball Despite Player Deaths

BLUFFTON, Ohio (AP) -- Bluffton University will play baseball this season despite the deaths of five players who were killed when the team bus toppled off an overpass.<br/><br/>"It's important they

Tuesday, March 20th 2007, 12:20 pm

By: News On 6

BLUFFTON, Ohio (AP) -- Bluffton University will play baseball this season despite the deaths of five players who were killed when the team bus toppled off an overpass.

"It's important they get back on the field and do what they love," athletic director Phill Talavinia said Tuesday.

He said the players on the team were unanimous in their decision, but they first wanted to make sure the families of those killed agreed.

The team will wear all black uniforms to honor the five players: Scott Harmon, Tyler Williams, Cody Holp, David Betts and Zach Arend.

The Beavers began practicing Monday and their first game is March 31 against Mount St. Joseph of Cincinnati.

The team's bus plunged off an overpass in Atlanta on March 2 while on a trip to Florida. Four players died at the scene and a fifth died a week later. The driver and his wife also died.

Investigators have said the driver apparently mistook an exit ramp for a highway lane. He continued without stopping at an intersection at the top of the ramp and then went over the edge.