McPherson, Kansas – The Central Christian College of Kansas Softball team welcomed Nelson University to McPherson to continue Sooner Athletic Conference play. The Tigers were fresh off a two game series with Hesston College where they won both games 7-5 and 11-1 respectively.
The Tigers would not have answers for Nelson’s strong pitching staff, as the Tigers mustered just six runs over the four game series.
In game one, the Lions and Tigers would start the series off with a pitching duel that led to a 10 inning thriller. The Tigers did a good job keeping the Lions off the scoreboard as they were outhit 9-2 in the game. No runs were scored until the Lions took a 1-0 lead in the 8th inning followed by the Tigers evening the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning. The Lions would take a 2-1 lead in the 10th and close out the game to take the first game of the series.
Game two on Friday provided more action as the Lions took game 2, 10-2 in 5 innings. The Lions strung hits together and took advantage of Tiger errors to extend their lead. Leading 5-2 in the 5th, the Lions tacked on 5 runs to bring the run rule into effect should the Tigers not score in the bottom of the inning. Nelson would finish off the 5th and win the game to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
The Tigers looked to flip the script on Saturday but the Lions proved to be resilient, starting off game one with runs in the first and second inning to set the tone. The Lions would extend their lead to 4-0 in the 4th with two more runs. The Tigers were hitting but not moving runners over as they outhit the Lions 8-7 in the game. Ciara Valadez plated the Tigers only run with an RBI single in the 7th inning. The Lions would go on to win the game 4-1 and take a 3-0 series lead.
Looking to salvage one game in the series, the Tigers turned to Clarissa Rejino once more this weekend. The Lions got the scoring started with a run in the second inning. The Tigers would even up the score at 1-1 after Ciara Valadez continued swinging a hot bat with an RBI double. The Lions would add 3 runs in the 5th inning to take a 4-1 lead. The Tigers would get a run back in the 6th after Jaci Jeffers hit a single up the middle, making the score 4-2. The Lions would go on to win by this score and take all four games of the series.
The Tigers are now back to .500 on the season at 11-11 overall and 4-8 in SAC play. The Tigers will head to Chickasha, Oklahoma for a matchup this weekend with the University of Science and Arts Oklahoma. The games will be broadcast on the SAC Sports Network on Friday and Saturday.
