SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – On Sunday afternoon, the Southwestern College baseball team tried their luck with two more battles against Evangel University in Springfield, Mo. Missed opportunities limited the Builders' offense to just _ runs on the day, including two in the first matchup and _ in the second bout. The Moundbuilders dropped the opener by a final of 5-2, while struggling mightily in game two, falling 4-1.

"It was a tough opening weekend for us," opined head coach Chris Dawson. "But we know what we need to improve on and will continue putting in the work. The guys battled until the final out, and we had chances this weekend, but just did not capitalize on them when we needed to."

The first inning of the day brought a bit of optimism for SC, as they were able to manufacture a run. London Penland was hit by a pitch and subsequently stole second base. Then, a fly ball to center field by Joseph Finder advanced Penland to third with just one out. Zach Boone took advantage with a groundout up the middle of the diamond to bring Penland home. The 1-0 lead would be quickly erased, however, on a two-out RBI double by the Valor in the bottom half.

Southwestern would strike again in the top of the second, as Marcus Burton led off the frame with an infield single on a chopper to the third baseman. He was followed by a one-out walk by Noah Prince and a line-drive single off the glove of the pitcher from Tyler Seboldt to load the bases. Then, Penland delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to put SC back in front, 2-1.

After a pair of scoreless half innings, Evangel grabbed their second run of the battle with a sacrifice fly to center field in the bottom of the third. They would then add to that with an additional tally in the bottom of the fourth after holding the Builders to nothing in the top half. The run came home on a double-play ball with runners at first and third, as Southwestern was content with taking two outs for the price of allowing a run. The 3-2 Valor lead was well within reach for Southwestern.

A leadoff walk from Penland in the top of the fifth looked to have sparked something for SC, but he was thrown out trying to steal second during the next at bat, snuffing out any possible change of momentum. To make matters worse, with two outs in the inning, Boone laced a double down the left-field line which would have chased home Penland to tie the score. He would end up being stranded, and Evangel would take advantage of the missed Builder opportunity. The Valor grabbed a pair of runs on a sac fly and an RBI single to extend their advantage to 5-2 with just two more chances for the Moundbuilders to score.

A quiet sixth inning for both sides led to Southwestern's last chance in the top of the seventh. After two singles back-to-back to start the frame by Penland and Finder, a pitching change by the home squad resulted in three straight strikeouts to end the game in unceremonious fashion for the Moundbuilders.

It was a tight start to the second bout of the afternoon, as neither side could put up a run until the third inning, when Evangel got an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom half as well as a steal of home which stretched the advantage to 2-0. That lead would be added to in the fifth, when the Valor scored two more runs via an RBI double and a wild infield fly that ended up being dropped in shallow right-center field with the bases loaded, allowing all three runners to advance.

The 4-0 Valor lead would be cut into quickly in the top of the sixth, as Penland and Finder smacked back-to-back doubles to send Penland home for the Builders' first and only run of the ballgame. From that point forward, three straight punchouts by the Evangel pitching staff ended the sixth inning, and a leadoff single in the top of the seventh for the Builders would be wasted by two strikeouts and a groundout, in a row to end the game.

The Builders matched their game one total on Saturday with their eight hits in the first tilt on Sunday. That was tied for their series-high in single-game hits. Once again, Boone had a multi-hit performance, as he picked up a pair of hits in four at-bats in Sunday's game one. Penland had only one official AB in the first battle, ripping a single to left, while having a 1-for-2 showing in game two. He also had a sacrifice fly and a stolen base in the first battle. He scored a pair of runs over the course of the two games. Finder's two-hit game two included two doubles and an RBI. Burton had a single hit in each game, while scoring a run in the first tilt. Josh Crabtree, Prince and Seboldt had the remainder of the Builders' three hits on the afternoon.

Taylor Petty tossed 4.2 innings in the first game while allowing five runs. He was relieved by Jaxon Burns, who tossed 1.1 scoreless frames.

Gannon Dow had an effective first start on the bump as a Moundbuilder, allowing only three earned runs plus an unearned run. He struck out six Valor batters in five innings of work, while only issuing two walks. Jacob Woodburn supplied a scoreless bottom of the sixth on the mound, while punching out a pair of Evangel hitters.

"Our pitchers threw well for the most part this weekend, and we had some bright spots offensively," Dawson said. "We just need to be more consistent top to bottom. We will get back to work this week and get ready for next weekend at home."

After suffering the season-opening sweep, the Moundbuilders (0-4) will be back in Winfield next weekend for their home opener. It will be a weekend full of baseball, as SC will host the William Penn University Statesmen on Friday, Feb. 10 at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Southwestern will have Saturday off, as William Penn will play the Hastings College Broncos twice that afternoon. The Builders will return to the field on Sunday, Feb. 12, when they will face off with the Broncos at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. to end the weekend.

--buildersports.com--