Softball | 3/9/2013 1:59:00 PM
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Box Score 2 |
Box Score 3
Wichita, Kan. – Following a 0-3 showing on day one of the McPherson College softball tournament, the Bulldogs were denied two more chances at victory as the fields were too wet to compete on. Mac played three tight contests on Friday but could not overcome eight costly errors.
Game 1 – Dakota State Trojans – L 7-3
In their opening game of the tourney, MC took on Dakota State University out of South Dakota in the 10:00 a.m. slot. After holding the DSU offense in the first inning, the Lady Bulldogs did what they chant after every first inning shutout, “We score first.” On an
Amanda (Grace) Baxter (Pueblo, Colo.) single to right field,
Whitney Miller (Valley Center, Kan.), after getting on via a walk, was brought home to give McPherson the lead.
The Trojans put a run on the board in the top of the second but two more ‘Dogs crossed the plate in the bottom half of the inning, putting MC on top again.
Mallorie Thurman (Belle Plaine, Kan.) singled up the gut and then after being pushed to second on a
McKenna Deckard (Hutchinson, Kan.) sacrifice bunt, was sent home on an
Ariel McGee (Denver, Colo.) double. McGee would then steal third and came across home plate after a triple by Miller.
Mac would only get two hits the remainder of the game and surrendered six runs to Dakota State, three in the fourth and three more in the seventh, giving the Lady Trojans the 7-3 win.
The Bulldogs totaled seven hits in their first competition with McGee leading the way with two, each being doubles; Miller also made it safely aboard twice with one hit and one walk. Five other MC players put the ball in play once.
DSU ended the contest with 11 hits, three of which coming from catcher Elizabeth Rubalcava; she had one double and two singles and was brought home a team-high two times.
Allison Love (Tulsa, Okla.) pitched the complete game for Mac, surrendering three earned runs, four walks, and 11 hits while tallying two strikeouts in the 37 batters she faced.
Game 2 – Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves – L 11-4
Immediately following game one, the Bulldogs had to gear up for another contest as NWU was ready to play, evident by their four first inning runs. McGee led off for McPherson and doubled to center; two wild pitches later and she crossed the plate, putting the score at 4-1.
The Lady Wolves brought around another run in the second and then again in the fifth. Nebraska Wesleyan kept the throttle down in the top of the sixth with four more runs, making it a score or game over for MC as they were down by over eight runs after five innings.
After tabulating only one hit in each of the first five innings, Mac finally stung a few together to score three in the sixth, pushing the game to another inning.
Jenna Kaiser (Billings, Mont.) started the hitting party for the ‘Dogs with a double; she was then moved to third on a Baxter single to right.
Ashley Love (Tulsa, Okla.) doubled in Kaiser and sent Baxter to third base; both would score on an error by NWU as they were trying to handle
Sydney Lipton's (Wellington, Kan.) bat of the ball. Lipton was eventually picked off later in that play, ending the inning.
Another run by the Prairie Wolves in the seventh and three up, three down for McPherson ended the contest with Nebraska Wesleyan taking it 11-4.
The bats of MC continued to improve as they put the ball in play eight times; a fantastic 3-of-3 showing by As. Love topped the Lady Bulldogs. McGee went 2-of-4 with both again being doubles. Three other players recorded a hit in the loss.
NWU put on a hitting clinic as they logged 17 in their victory. Becky Bomberger, the designated hitter, was a perfect 4-of-4 with a team leading two RBI. Two Wolves tallied three hits while two more had two and three others ended with one.
Kaila Atkinson (Magnolia, Texas) started things off on the mound for the ‘Dogs and went four innings before being relieved by Al. Love. Atkinson allowed six runs, four earned, and 11 hits. Al. Love gave up the remaining five runs with four being earned; she also totaled six hits and two strikeouts in her three innings of work.
Game 3 – Mid-America Christian Evangels – L 6-5
This was a tough one to swallow for McPherson as they led for six of the seven innings. The Lady Bulldogs scored first in the bottom of the opening inning. Run number one was a homerun by Kaiser, the lone HR on Field 4 for the day. Baxter was next up and got on board with a double then scored on As. Love’s single. Up 2-0, MC knew that it wouldn’t be enough and scored three more in the third; they did a bit of rallying as they scored all three runs with two outs. McGee scored on an error by MACU as they tried to put out Baxter. A triple by As. Love sent Baxter home and on a single by
Simone Donaldson (Halstead, Kan.), As. Love made her way across the plate.
In the top of the fourth, the Evangels began to get it together and scored twice. After a three up, three down for the Bulldogs, Mid-America scored three more in the fifth to tie things up at 5-5. Both teams went scoreless in the sixth but MACU would not be denied in the seventh, scoring on a double to deep center.
MC hit three ground balls in the bottom half of the inning which gave the Lady Evangels the 6-5 comeback.
The Lady ‘Dogs had seven total hits in their final game of the day. As. Love and McGee each ended with two to their name; As. Love also led the team in RBI with two. Three other players logged two hits and a total of three others recorded a RBI.
MACU scored their six runs on 12 hits; third baseman Randi Gilmartin went 3-of-4 with two doubles and also tallied a team-high four RBI. Three others put the ball in to play twice while three more had one knock of the ball.
Al. Love recorded her second complete game of the day, pitching to 36 batters. She surrendered three earned runs and two walks while striking out four.
Next on the docket for McPherson is the Sterling College tournament which is scheduled for March 15th and 16th. All games will be played in Hutchinson, Kansas at the FUN Valley Sports Complex.
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