McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College softball team twice lost in the final inning in Wednesday's doubleheader with Central Christian College. The first game was tied at 3-3 in the seventh and the Tigers, playing as the home team, scored with two outs to win 4-3. Then in the second, Mac trailed 9-8 but plated two to take the lead; CCC answered with a pair of their own, scoring the final run again with two outs.
Game 1 – L 4-3
McPherson scored a run in the first, third, and fifth inning to take a 3-0 advantage. The Bulldog defense did a nice job of shutting down Central Christian, allowing just a few hits and forcing four runners to stay on base in the game's first five innings.
The Tigers had a big sixth inning, scoring three runs on four hits to tie the game at 3-3.
MC put two runners on in the seventh but couldn't bring them around. Central ended the game on a walk-off single.
Amanda Connell was 3-of-3 in the game and scored twice. Mac tallied seven hits and Katie Holmes tallied two and had a pair of RBI.
Sydney Lang pitched the complete game, going six and two-thirds. She allowed four earned runs on nine hits and zero walks; the freshman recorded five strikeouts.
Game 2 – L 11-10
The Bulldogs were again the first team on the board, taking advantage of a pair of Central errors to jump in front 4-0. CCC pushed back in the next two innings, scoring seven to take a 7-4 lead.
McPherson tied it up in the fourth with three runs, again capitalizing on some Tiger miscues. Central Christian took the lead back as they brought two across the plate in the fifth.
Mac inched closer with one in the sixth then scored two more in the seventh to lead 10-9. After a pair of groundouts, the Tigers were able to get their bats going and logged two more runs to take the game 11-10.
The 'Dogs boasted 10 hits and three walks in the game. Emily Davis was 3-of-5 from the plate and scored twice. Samantha Harrity earned a RBI with one of her two hits.
Katie Usdansky started the game on the mound but was relieved in the third after surrendering seven runs, five earned, on seven hits and a walk. Lang finished out the game for Mac, throwing for four and two-thirds.
The next outing for McPherson will be this weekend as they take on Waldorf College on Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m. (CT) at Wall Park.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
