Sterling, Kan. – McPherson was on the road for a midweek matchup on Wednesday against the Sterling College Warriors. The Bulldogs continued to look for their first conference win of the season after dropping their first two KCAC doubleheaders. On the other side, the Warriors aimed to move above .500 in conference play for the year after dropping their most recent games against Ottawa.
The Basics
Location: Sterling Softball Field
Records: MC 6-12 (KCAC 0-6), SC 9-17 (KCAC 4-2)
Game One: MC 4, SC 5
McPherson opened the scoring in Game One, capitalizing on a chaotic play that started with Sidney Larrew getting caught stealing second and ended with Samantha Hollingsworth stealing home to give the Bulldogs the early edge.
Sterling responded in the following inning, as Kylie Dunbar sent a double down the left field line to bring Maria Casillas around and even things up
After a pair of scoreless frames, the game turned into a back-and-forth battle. In the eighth, Savannah Robles broke the tie with a clutch shot down the left field line to score Aviana Youngbird, then came all the way around herself on an RBI groundout from Layla Turner to make it 3-1 Bulldogs.
The Warriors didn’t go quietly, though. Sterling answered in the bottom half with a pair of sacrifice flies to knot things up at 3-3 and force extras.
In the ninth, Landri Lopez delivered for the Bulldogs giving them their third lead of the contest after bringing home Hollingsworth with an RBI single to put McPherson back in front, 4-3.
Sterling had one final push left. Ashley Johnson tied things up with a single, and moments later Bailey Martinez drove in the winning run with a walk-off single to hand the Bulldogs a tough 5-4 loss in a thriller.
Game Two: MC 6, SC 16
Game Two had a different feel right from the start, as Sterling came out swinging in the opening inning. Alessandra Ambriz got things going with an RBI knock before Casillas cleared the fence with a three-run shot, quickly putting the Warriors in front 4-0.
McPherson didn’t take long to respond. In the second inning, Justice Large cut the deficit in half sending Towner home on and RBI triple before crossing the plate herself on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs kept the momentum rolling into the third, evening things up at 4-4 on a Towner single before taking their first lead of the game when Large reached on an error that also allowed Towner to score.
Sterling answered right back, plating runs in both the third and fourth to reclaim the lead. But the Bulldogs continued to battle, tying things up once again when Large crossed the plate on a throwing error by the Warriors’ first baseman.
Despite the back-and-forth action through the majority of the contest, the game swung decisively in the sixth. Sterling erupted for nine runs on six hits, putting together their most explosive inning of the day and pulled away for a 16-6 run rule victory.
