KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Southwestern College softball team made their way to Kansas City for a pair of Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) matchups on Saturday afternoon at Avila University. The battles heavily favored the hosts, as the Moundbuilders could not get any offense rolling in either game, falling by 8-0 finals in five innings in both tilts.
Avila scored early and often in game one, picking up three runs in the first inning on a sacrifice fly, a run-scoring single and an RBI double. They would add on two runs in the second inning via an RBI sacrifice bunt and a run-scoring groundout. That made it 5-0, before they grabbed a couple more runs in the third on an RBI single and another run-scoring groundout. During that span, Southwestern had just a single hit.
The Eagles would grab one additional run in the fifth, on what was essentially a walk-off single to left field, ending the game with an 8-0 score on the board.
Game two followed a similar path, but the Builders did hold the Eagles off the board until the bottom of inning number three. Unfortunately, it was a big five-run inning that Avila put together in the third to make it 5-0 with four innings remaining.
Another run crossed the dish in the fourth for the Eagles, making it 6-0 after four. Finally, another two-run stanza by the hosts in the fifth ended the game in walk-off fashion, yet again. A two-run double down the left-field line ended the second of the two bouts.
Loren Wright had the best day at the plate for the Moundbuilders, going 3-for-5 over the course of two shortened matchups. All three of her hits were singles, as were all the remaining six hits for SC on the day. Natalie Davis (game one), Isabel Lytle (game two), Hannah Hlavenka (game two), Ryleigh Branstetter (game two), Zoe Berger (game two) and Taylor Mesna (game two) each had a single hit on Saturday.
Alexus Johnson (2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER) and Jordan Gates (2.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB) made up the pitching staff for game one, while Branstetter (2 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 3 BB) and Raleigh Kramer (2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB) tossed during the late-afternoon game.
Southwestern (3-32, 1-16 KCAC) will return to the diamond on Wednesday, Apr. 19 in North Newton, Kan., where they will face off with the Threshers of Bethel College. The Builders will be looking to get back on the right track in those battles under the lights, as game one begins at 5 p.m.
--buildersports.com--
