McPherson, Kan. – It was a doubleheader split between McPherson College softball and Sterling College on Saturday. The 'Dogs held off a late SC attack in the first, winning 7-6, but then fell in the second 16-11 in extra innings.
Game 1 – W 7-6
MC got on the board first with a pair of runs in the opening inning. After allowing three to Sterling in the top of the third, Mac tied it up at 3-3 following their half of the inning.
McPherson pulled away from the Warriors with a four-run fourth, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. A strong surge by Sterling in the final inning was stopped on Bulldog pitcher Sydney Lang's 11th strikeout of the game, putting the final at 7-6 in favor of MC.
The 'Dogs racked up 11 hits and three walks in the opener with four different players recording two hits. Shelby Maycumber, Brittany Childs, and Azaria Romero each tallied a pair of RBI with Childs' being a two-run shot in the first inning.
Lang threw a great complete game for Mac; the freshman allowed four earned and two unearned runs on 12 hits and two walks while striking out the 11 Sterling batters.
Game 2 – L 16-11 – 8 Innings
In the day's second game, tt was Sterling that jumped in front early with a three-run opening frame. The 'Dogs responded with a pair of runs in the first then two more in the second to take a 4-3 lead.
SC tied it up in the fourth and then jumped on top after scoring five runs in the fifth; McPherson brought around three in the bottom of the inning to put the score at 9-7.
After both teams scored a run in the sixth, the Bulldogs plated two in the seventh to push the game to extras; Mac had a couple chances to score the winning run but failed to bring another runner across.
In the eighth, Sterling quickly scored six runs and McPherson could only muster one, bringing the game to an end at 16-11.
13 hits, four walks and three hit by pitches were recorded by MC. Katie Holmes was 4-of-5 from the plate and had a team-high two Runs Batted In. Both Emily Davis and Maycumber had two hits apiece; Davis too had a pair of RBI.
Katie Usdansky pitched into the sixth but was relieved by Lang who recorded the loss for the Bulldogs.
McPherson will hit the road next Tuesday for a doubleheader with the Southwestern College Moundbuilders in Winfield, Kansas; start time for the first game is set for 4:00 p.m. (CT)
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
