HILLSBORO, Kan. – The Southwestern College softball squad made their way to Hillsboro, Kan., where they battled the Bluejays of Tabor College in a couple of exciting matchups on Saturday afternoon. Game one did not go the Builders' way, as SC dropped the first matchup 6-3 to Tabor College. Then, after falling behind by as many as six runs in game two, the Moundbuilders whittled the lead down to just one run in the final inning. Sadly, they could not find the final run needed to prolong the tilt, falling 8-7 to end their day against the Bluejays.

Tabor found the scoreboard early with a run in the bottom of the first inning. A double to left-center field helped the Bluejays to earn their first run of the battle to take the lead.

It took the Builders three whole innings to finally find their rhythm and get on the scoreboard as they scored two runs in the top of the fourth. Zoe Berger singled to right field to earn her first RBI of the game, as Alexus Johnson advanced home to score the opening run for the Builders. Shortly after, Gina Hernandez earned an RBI, as she singled to right field, pushing Natalie Davis across to score. The Builders would take a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth.

Unfortunately, the lead did not hold for long, as the Bluejays struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning. They scored three runs to take back the lead, 4-2. An RBI single, and a two-run base hit made the three-run inning for the Bluejays complete.

The Builders tried to come back in the top of the fifth inning as they scored another run to shorten the deficit to 4-3. Loren Wright grounded out to shortstop, making it possible for Isabel Lytle to score the lone run of the frame.

In the end, it was not enough for the Builders as the Bluejays scored another two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make the score a final at 6-3. An RBI single to right field and a ground out to the shortstop that resulted in a run for Tabor tallied the last two tabor runs.

Game two started slowly, as both teams could not find their way onto the scoreboard for the first three innings. It was in the fourth inning that the Bluejays were able to score six runs (RBI single, run-scoring single, stole home, RBI single, two-RBI double) off of five total hits to take the 6-0 lead into the fifth frame.

The Builders answered in the top of the fifth inning with four runs on six hits. Lytle singled through the left side for her first RBI for the game, scoring Hernandez. Immediately after that, Rayven Favors singled through the left side to earn her first RBI of the day. Allyson Lange scored on Favors' base hit. L. Wright singled to center field to drive in a run, as well. Lytle scored the third Builder run in game two off of L. Wright's smash to center. The last run in the top of the fifth inning was scored by Favors, as Alexus Johnson singled to shortstop to tally her first RBI of the afternoon, bringing the score to 6-4.

The Bluejays were able to score a single run on an RBI single to improve their lead to 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

A scoreless sixth inning for the Moundbuilders was punished by another run by Tabor in the bottom of the sixth. An RBI single updated the score to 8-4 in favor of the Bluejays.

After all seemed lost, the seventh inning showed some hope and resilience, as the Builders found their rhythm again. Davis singled out to right field, allowing Favors to score the fifth run for the Builder. With the bases loaded, Berger singled to right field to earn a two-RBI single, chasing home both Al. Johnson and Gabrielle Dader. That hit made it just a one-run game, but unfortunately, that was it for the Builders. No additional runners were able to score, ending the game in an 8-7 defeat to the Bluejays in Hillsboro.

Favors (4-for-8, 2 RBI), Al. Johnson (3-for-7, RBI), Berger (3-for-7, 3 RBI), Lytle (3-for-9, RBI) and Hernandez (3-for-6, 2B, RBI) carried the load for the SC offense all day long, as Davis (2-for-6, RBI) was the only other Moundbuilder with multiple hits on Saturday.

Al. Johnson ended up throwing a total of seven innings in the circle, as she went the full six frames in the first game and tossed one frame of relief in the latter battle. She allowed a total of seven runs on 12 hits in that span. Raleigh Kramer started game two for SC, and went four innings, allowing six runs on six hits. Jordan Gates tossed one inning of relief before Al. Johnson entered. Gates allowed one run on three hits.

The Builders (1-18, 0-6 KCAC) continue to compete with their KCAC counterparts, and are back in action on Tuesday, March 28, when they host the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes for a conference twin-billing. Game one will begin at 2 p.m., and the latter tilt will follow shortly after conclusion of the first bout.

--buildersports.com--