Photo by Micah Gilbert
Corpus Christi, Texas – The McPherson College softball team opened up 2020, going 2-1 on day one of the Southern Collegiate Invitational down in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Bulldogs dropped the opener to Jarvis Christian College 12-10, but then bounced back to take the next two games. They topped Huston-Tillotson University in game two, 5-3, then finished off the day by beating University of Houston-Victoria 7-6.
The Mac ladies got off to a slow start in the opener against the JCC Bulldogs, trailing 11-1 through 2 ½ innings. In the bottom of the third, they started to get the offense going, scoring a pair of runs. They kept thing rolling in the fourth, putting up five more to trim the lead to 11-8. Jarvis Christian picked up a big insurance run in their half of the sixth to take a 12-8 lead into the final inning. In the seventh, the Bulldogs plated two runs, but the rally stalled, and Jarvis escaped with a 12-10 win.
Katy Wilson (Jr. Princeton, Texas), Shelby Bonn (Jr. Shawnee, Kan.), and Raegan Kleppe (Fr. McKinney, Texas) all saw time in the circle for the Bulldogs, with Wilson collaring the loss. Offensively, the Bulldogs' ten runs were the product of eight hits. Maile Deutsch (Jr. Palmer, Texas), and Kylecia Taylor (Jr. Junction City, Kan.) both went 2 for 4, Jessica Jones (Sr. Brentwood, Calif.) was 1 for 2 with three walks and two runs scored.
After pitching just one inning in game one, Kleppe got the nod to start in the circle in game two against the Huston-Tillotson Rams. She went all seven innings scattering eight hits, and allowing three runs, and finished with two strikeouts and no walks. The offense gave the freshman just enough run support to see her pick up her first collegiate win.
The Bulldogs had eight more hits in game two, leading to five runs. Deutch and Taylor continued to swing a hot bat, with Maile going 2 for 4 with two doubles and a pair of runs scored, and Kylecia hitting safely three times in four attempts, with a triple and two runs driven in.
Game three was a thriller, with the Bulldogs winning 7-6 on a walk of single by Brandy Trengove (Jr. Wheat Ridge, Colo.) in the bottom of the seventh. Wilson got the start again in the circle an threw four solid innings, giving up five runs, but only two of them earned, on seven hits. She was lifted after the fourth with her team clinging to a one run lead. The Jaguars tied the game in the top of the fifth, with Kleppe back in the circle, meaning Wilson could not be a factor in the win. The win instead went to Raegan, when the Bulldogs won the game with the walk-off run in the seventh.
The Bulldog bats came alive in game three to the tune of 14 hits, with four players recording multiple hits. Jones, Deutsch, Taylor, and Destiny Bacon (Jr. La Mesa, Calif.), all finished the game 2 for 4.
"We started off very slow game 1," said Bulldog head coach Tony Segovia. "We got behind early and finally rallied to make it a game but just fell short. I was proud of them for not giving up." Segovia added, "In game two we settled in and got a solid pitching performance from Raegan. Maile and Kylecia did a great job pacing the offense. Game 3 was a gritty performance against a ranked team in Houston Victoria. We fell behind early and bounce back to finish the day with two wins. Proud of them and look forward to day two."
The Bulldogs have just two games on Saturday to finish out the tournament. They will play Our Lady of the Lake University out of San Anotonio, Texas in the 11 a.m. game, then finish the tournament against Texas Wesleyan University at 1 p.m.
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