McPherson, Kan. – The scores do not do the games justice as the two Saturday afternoon contests between McPherson College and Friends University were much closer than the 12-1, 9-0 finals would indicate. The Bulldogs were just a couple of defensive plays away from keeping themselves in the opener and a few hits away from taking the second game. Unfortunately for MC, they dropped both, sliding to 4-29 on the year.
Game 1 – 12-1 Friends University
The Lady Falcons started their scoring early as they put three on the board in the first frame; Friends added two in the third and two in the fourth to go up 7-0 heading into the fifth inning. McPherson held FU scoreless for the fifth and the sixth but was unable to contain the Falcon offense in the top of the seventh as five runs were scored. The 'Dogs tallied their lone run in the bottom of the seventh as Simone Donaldson brought Whitney Miller home on an RBI single, bringing the final to 12-1.
Mac logged six hits and also had one walk in the first game of the doubleheader. Donaldson was responsible for two of the batted balls while four others logged one hit.
Amanda Connell pitched for six and one third innings for MC; the freshman allowed the 12 earned runs on 15 hits and six walks. Kaylee Lozier finished the game for the Lady Bulldogs, putting out the two batters she faced.
Game 2 – 9-0 Friends University
In the second game of the DH, Lozier held the Falcons scoreless through the first four innings; FU got close on multiple occasions but the Bulldog D stepped up in clutch situations. Offensively, McPherson was able to put runners into scoring position in nearly every inning but was unable to find that final hit to bring their teammates home. Late in the game, the floodgates were finally open for Friends as they scored two in the fifth, three in the sixth, and four in the seventh for their nine runs. Mac again struggled to string together their hits in the final innings, dropping the contest 9-0.
MC had nine baserunners in the second game of the day as they tallied five hits, got on three times via errors, and once due to a hit batsman. Five different Bulldogs had a hit. Cassandra Moreno led the team in on-base percentage as she had a hit and was the McPherson player to get hit by a pitch.
Lozier threw for the first six innings, surrendering five runs on nine hits and two walks. Connell logged the final three outs for the Lady 'Dogs.
Mac travels to Southwestern College on April 15th for their next contest; start time for the doubleheader is set for 5:00 p.m. (CT) in Winfield, Kansas.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
