WINFIELD, Kan. – Two more Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) battles stood in front of the Southwestern College softball team on Tuesday afternoon in Winfield, as they hosted the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes for a twin-billing at Broadway Sports Complex. Two bouts, in which SC provided very little offense, ended up falling in favor of the opposition by final scores of 8-2 and 9-1. The latter battle ended after six innings of play.

Early on, Southwestern knew they would have an uphill battle after affording the Coyotes a four spot in the top of the first frame. Two RBI doubles, an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly gave KWU a 4-0 lead entering the bottom of the first. The Builders would answer with a single run on a sac fly by Hannah Hlavenka, scoring Isabel Lytle from third base.

After holding the Coyotes to nothing in the top of the second, the Moundbuilders nabbed another tally with a run-scoring single by Gina Hernandez through the right side of the infield. Alexus Johnson would cross the plate to score the second run of the game for SC.

From the end of the second inning until the start of the sixth, there was no scoring from either side, as the pitchers settled in nicely over that span. But, in the top of the sixth, KWU finally returned to the scoreboard with a two-run frame. A pair of RBI singles made it a 6-2 Kansas Wesleyan advantage with just an inning-and-a-half left to be played.

Southwestern would be held to nothing in the top of the sixth, and the Coyotes capitalized by scoring two more times in the top of the seventh to make it an 8-2 ballgame with only three outs remaining for SC. The Moundbuilders could not manage a run in the bottom of the inning and fell, 8-2.

The first inning continued to be a good stanza for KWU, as they scored a single run on an RBI fielder's choice in the opening frame of game two.

Another run would come across for Kansas Wesleyan in the third inning, as Southwestern's offense continued to stall. A run-scoring double over the head of the center fielder made it a 2-0 game for the Coyotes after two-and-a-half.

The visitors would add on two more runs to their tally in the fifth, taking a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth. Southwestern would finally get on the scoreboard in the fifth, as well, as Rayven Favors reached on a fielding error by the Coyote third baseman. A run came in to score on the play from second base in the form of Hernandez. With the bases loaded and just one out, though, the Builders could not push any additional runs across.

That failure to convert seemed to swing the momentum back in the Coyotes' favor, as they responded with a five-run sixth inning, including a run-scoring single, two RBI doubles, a triple to drive in a run and a sacrifice fly. After the dust settled, KWU had created an eight-run lead and would force SC to score at least one time in the bottom of the sixth to keep the game going. The Moundbuilders could not make it happen, and fell to Kansas Wesleyan by the final tally of 9-1 in six innings.

Over the course of 13 innings, the Builders were able to contribute nine hits to the cause, offensively. Favors and Zoe Berger had a pair of hits in the first game of the day, but were each held hitless in game two. Lytle provided one hit in three attempts in each tilt, and Hernandez's RBI in game one came on the remaining hit from the opening matchup. Loren Wright and pinch hitter Kalli Viegra were responsible for the two remaining hits that came in the back half of the twin-billing.

Though she ended up on the losing end, Al. Johnson was in the circle for the entirety of the opening bout. She ate up seven innings, and allowed eight total runs on 13 hits. Six of those eight tallies scored by KWU were earned. Raleigh Kramer started game two for SC, and finished 5.2 innings on the slab, allowing seven runs on 10 hits. Jordan Gates closed out the final third of an inning and allowed two hits and one earned run.

The Moundbuilders (1-20, 0-8 KCAC) will return to Broadway tomorrow afternoon for a pair of non-conference meetings with the Evangels of Mid America Christian University. First pitch of game one is slated for 1 p.m. and game two will follow the first tilt's conclusion.

--buildersports.com--