Softball | 3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College softball team scored 15 runs in two games, as the Bulldogs opened the spring season with a 5-3 and a 10-0 victory over cross-town rival Central Christian College on Wednesday afternoon.
With the sweep, McPherson improves to 2-0 on the year, while the Tigers drop to 0-8.
Game 1 – McPherson 5, Central Christian 3
Sophomore Andrea Falk opened the scoring in the top of the first with a two out three-run homerun to give McPherson an early 3-0 advantage. McPherson would go on to score one in the third on a Sadie Green sacrifice bunt that scored Kelsey Dutton, before adding another in the fifth on a Green single up the middle.
Freshman Kelsey Dutton finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three stolen bases, while Falk powered in a team-high three RBI’s
Sophomore Katie Logan (1-0) earned her first win of the season, allowing three runs on only three hits in seven innings of work. Logan added four strikeouts, but walked four and allowed a homerun in the bottom of the seventh.
Autumn Williams led central Christian at the plate. Williams finished game one 2-for-4, including a two run triple in the bottom of the third. Jacklyn Wright took the loss, allowing five runs (five earned) on 10 hits in seven innings. Wright tallied a game-high 10 strikeouts in the loss.
McPherson jumped on the Tigers early, as Dutton singled and Ashley Luthye was hit-by-pitch to put two runners on with two outs. Falk took full advantage of the opportunity, blasting a 3-1 pitch over the left field fence to give MC an early 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs struck again in the third. After Dutton and Luthye opened the inning with singles, followed by a pair of stolen bases, Sadie Green laid a perfect sacrifice bunt to score Dutton from third.
Central’s first scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the frame, as a pair of walks put two runners on with only one out. Logan got the next batter out on a failed squeeze play, but hung a pitch out over the plate that Williams blasted into the right-center field gap for a two-run triple (4-2). Logan got out of the inning as the next batter popped out to third.
The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 5-2 with another RBI from Green that scored Dutton in the fifth. Dutton began the inning with a single. Following a Luthye strikeout, Falk singled to left before Green drove in her second run of the game with a hard hit ball up the middle.
The Lady Tigers would add one more in the bottom of the seventh, before Logan closed the door on the game.
Game 2 – McPherson 10, Central Christian 0 (5 innings)
On the heels of a 5-3 victory in the season opener, McPherson reeled off its second straight victory with a 10-0 win in game two against Central Christian.
McPherson again jumped on the Lady Tigers early scoring two in the first on a Kristen Ozbun double and an Ashley Luthye ground out that scored Ozbun from third. McPherson added a third run in the third inning, before tallying seven runs in the top of the fourth to pull out to a 10-0 lead.
Senior Kristen Ozbun finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs, while leadoff hitter Katie Logan drove in one run on two hits and scoring three runs. In just her second game, freshman Kelsey Dutton was a perfect 3-for-3 from the dish, including a double and an RBI.
Dutton (1-0) pitched five scoreless innings to pick up her first career victory. She gave up four hits, while walking three and striking out seven.
Central Christian’s best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the first, as the Lady Tigers had bases loaded with two outs. However, Dutton pulled herself out of the jam by striking out the next two hitters and getting the third to fly to shallow center.
Entering the inning up 3-0, McPherson scored seven runs on seven hits to blow the game open, 10-0. An Ashley Toepfer double to deep left field that scored Sadie Green highlighted the inning.
McPherson will resume action Friday, March 5, as the Bulldogs travel to Wichita for the Friends University Tournament. The Bulldogs first game is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. against Graceland University.
