STERLING, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College softball team ran its winning streak to six games with a doubleheader sweep of Sterling College in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play Tuesday night at the Sterling High School diamond.
The Bulldogs (20-17, 6-5 KCAC) shut out the Warriors (15-23, 3-9 KCAC), 4-0, in game one, then overcame a 6-1 deficit to win game two by an 8-7 score.
Game 1 --- McPherson 4, Sterling 0
Christie Betker (Reno, Nev., Reno HS) struck out eight and walked just one en route to a complete-game two-hit shutout in the opener.
Betker walked Jessica Munoz to open the first inning and allowed a two-out single to Dominque Salgado in the second, then sat the next 14 Warriors down in order before Tobi Salzman hit a one-out double to left-center in the seventh.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the fourth as
Kortney Jones (Brentwood, Calif., Liberty HS) scored on an RBI single by
Katie Holmes (Harrah, Okla., Cowley County CC) in the fourth. A second run came across in the fifth when
Chelsea Conrad (Ione, Calif., Argonaut HS) scored on a sacrifice fly by
Ali Smith (Lodi, Calif., Lodi HS) after leading off the frame with a double to left-center.
McPherson tacked on two runs in the seventh as
Amanda Connell (Wichita, Kan., Circle HS) scored on a
Jessica Jones (Brentwood, Calif., Liberty HS) RBI double and Conrad came home on a throwing error by Sterling center fielder Jenna Weimer.
Conrad finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Jessica Jones added two hits and an RBI.
Byanka Diosdado took the loss for the Warriors, scattering four runs on eight hits in a complete-game effort.
Game 2 --- McPherson 8, Sterling 7
Sterling took advantage of four early McPherson errors and jumped out to a 6-0 lead after four innings against three different Bulldog pitchers. The lead could have been much greater, however. The Warriors stranded a total of nine runners in that stretch, including leaving the bases loaded in both the third and fourth innings.
McPherson finally broke up the shutout in the fifth when
Azaria Romero (McPherson, Kan., Kansas Wesleyan University) scored when Conrad reached on an error.
The Warriors responded with a run in the bottom half of the same frame as Munoz scored on a Salgado RBI single off Betker. Betker had entered the game as a pinch hitter in the top of the fifth then stayed in to pitch.
The tide began to turn in the Bulldogs' favor in the sixth inning. The visitors scored four runs behind a
Judith Salazar (Santa Maria, Calif., Allen Hancock College) solo home run, a bases-loaded walk by
Jessica Knoeber (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) and a two-run bloop single to right by Betker.
Betker continued her strong pitching in the sixth, striking out two as Sterling was retired in order.
McPherson continued on the offensive in the seventh, opening the inning with three consecutive singles. Jessie Jones scored on a Smith RBI single to cut the Warrior lead to 7-6. Holmes gave the Bulldogs the lead two batters later with a two-run double to left that scored Smith and pinch-runner
Jasmine Curiel (Corona, Calif., Corona HS).
Sterling threatened with two outs in the bottom of the seventh as a Munoz single brought the winning run to the plate in the form of Miranda Escalera. Facing a 2-0 count, Escalera smoked a line drive towards the hole at shortstop that was snagged out of the air by Connell, who made a spectacular diving catch to end the game.
Betker allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out three in three innings to pick up her second win of the day. Starter
Sydney Lang (Topeka, Kan., Shawnee Heights HS) and reliever
Katie Usdansky (Olathe, Kan., Olathe North HS) threw one inning each, allowing a total of five unearned runs before yielding to
Kylee Martin (Colby, Kan., Goodland HS), who allowed just one run in two innings of work.
Diosdado took the loss in game two as well. She came on in the sixth inning, allowing three runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Each team had 10 hits. Salazar and Smith each had two hits and an RBI to lead McPherson, while Holmes and Betker each had a hit and two RBIs. Salgado led all players with three hits and drove in two for Sterling. Muniz added two hits and a walk, one RBI and two runs scored.
"[This was] a complete team effort tonight," said head coach
Ashley Spencer. "The heart our team has right now is unbelievable and we need to keep that up in order to keep doing what we're doing. We're hitting the ball well, fielding the ball well, and our pitching is doing great, also. I feel that if we can keep that up, there will be a lot of good things ahead of us the rest of the season."
With the sweep, the Bulldogs reached the 20-win plateau for just the fourth time in program history. McPherson posted its highest win total in 2011 when it went 22-26. The six-game winning streak also ranks second all-time, exceeded only by the 10-game streak from earlier this season.
Up next for the Bulldogs is a rescheduled doubleheader against Ottawa University (20-16, 3-9 KCAC) at 2 p.m. Thursday in Ottawa. McPherson then welcomes Southwestern College (12-24, 3-9 KCAC) to Wall Park for a 1 p.m. KCAC doubleheader Friday before breaking for the Easter holiday.
