York, Neb. – McPherson opened up their week on the road, taking on the York University Panthers. The Bulldogs looked to turn things around after dropping a doubleheader against Evangel over the weekend, while the Panthers aimed to move above .500 in conference play after sweeping their series against Bethel.
The Basics
Location: Ballpark Complex
Records: MC 9-19 (KCAC 1-13), YU 13-21 (KCAC 8-6)
Game One: MC 1, YU 7
The Panthers didn’t waste any time getting things going in Game One, jumping on the board early with an RBI single from Taylor Jones to take a 1-0 lead. York kept the pressure on in the second after adding another run on a groundout to second that brought Emma Peeples home.
York struck again in the fourth as Kailyn Ruckman sent a single up the middle to plate Peeples for her second run of the game, stretching the lead to 3-0.
Savannah Robles answered for McPherson in the fifth, scoring on an RBI groundout from Layla Towner to make it 3-1, and cut the deficit to two. The Panthers, however, answered right back in the bottom half of the inning to push their lead back to three.
York put things out of reach in the sixth, stringing together four hits and a walk to bring in three more runs. The Bulldogs couldn’t spark a late rally, as the Panthers closed out a 7-1 Game One victory.
Game Two: MC 0, YU 3
York struck first once again, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Peeples. From there, the game settled into a quiet stretch with the middle innings staying scoreless and McPherson managing the only hit in the fifth.
The Panthers created some separation in the sixth, scoring two runs to take control. Shannon Nelson came home on a pair of sacrifice flies for York’s second run; Bethany Wright followed up for the Panthers with an RBI single to add another.
McPherson couldn’t get much going at the plate in Game Two, finishing with just one hit while committing two errors, as York secured the 3-0 win.
