Softball | 4/6/2011 10:18:39 PM
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Sterling, Kan. – McPherson College senior centerfielder Jamie Gilbert (Joplin, Mo.) hit her first home run of the season to propel the Bulldogs to a 6-5 win in game two at Sterling College on Wednesday evening. The Bulldogs lost the first game of the day, 1-0, to the host Warriors.
With the results, McPherson moves to 15-19 on the year and 3-3 in KCAC play, while Sterling is now 14-20 overall and 4-2 in conference action.
In game one, the Warriors scored the game’s lone run on a passed ball in the bottom of the first of an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. Despite the loss, sophomore right-handed pitcher Kelsey Dutton (Limon, Colo.) allowed just three hits over six innings with three strikeouts. Offensively, McPherson tallied only four hits, including a double by senior catcher Ashley Toepfer (Crescent, Okla.).
The Bulldogs offense came alive in game two, as MC lit up the scoreboard in the top of the first on a sophomore first baseman Andrea Falk (Cheyenne, Wyo.) double to left-center that scored Gilbert. Gilbert reached base earlier with a double.
However, Sterling answered back with a pair in the bottom of the second before the Bulldogs scored two in the third to make it a 3-2 MC advantage. MC’s runs came on a bases loaded single by Dutton that scored freshman shortstop Payton Toepfer (Crescent, Okla.) and junior designated player Katie Logan (Clay Center, Kan.).
Sterling answered with a score of their own in the bottom of the frame to tie the score at 3-3. The Bulldogs scored runs in the fourth and fifth, but failed to close the door on the Warriors in the sixth as SC scored two runs with two outs to make it 5-5 entering the seventh.
Gilbert made short work of the tied score when she lifted a 1-1 pitch into left field and past the diving outfielder. The ball rolled all the way to the corner allowing Gilbert to score on an inside the park home run to give the Bulldogs the 6-5 lead.
Dutton, pitching in relief of Logan, allowed the first runner of the bottom of the seventh on, but retired the next three to earn the win.
At the plate, Gilbert led the squad with a 2-for-4 effort including one RBI and two runs scored, while Ashley Toepfer added her third home run of the season.
McPherson returns to action on Saturday, April 9 when they travel to Friends University. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
