YORK, Neb. – The last two tilts of 2023 for the Southwestern College softball squad were played in York, Neb., as the York University Panthers played host to the Builders on Monday afternoon in the Cornhusker State for a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) doubleheader. The originally scheduled home battles were moved due to forecasted weather in south-central Kansas. In the opener, SC was competing nicely until the final two innings, when the Panthers scored 12 runs to swell their lead from 4-1 to 16-1. Six late runs from the Moundbuilders would not be enough, as they fell 16-7 in five frames. Game two was dominated by York, as they run-ruled the Builders 8-0 in five.
After no scoring in the first inning by either side, the Panthers jumped onto the board in the second, as a solo homer, a run-scoring groundout and an RBI triple made it 3-0. Immediately, though, Natalie Davis would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the second inning on a solo homer down the left-field line. It was her first round-tripper of the campaign.
A sacrifice fly from York in the top of the third would extend the lead to 4-1, as the Builder offense went dormant over the middle frames of the battle. Five more runs in the fourth by the Panthers came via an error, a run-scoring single, an RBI walk and a two-run double.
Finally, a huge seven-run fifth frame was put forth by YU, as three RBI singles, a run-scoring fielder's choice and a three-run blast to left-center made it a 16-1 ballgame for the hosts. Southwestern would counter in the bottom of the fifth, as Isabel Lytle provided an RBI double to right-center field, scoring Taylor Mesna. Rayven Favors then popped a sacrifice fly to center field to score Taylor Powers. After the bases became loaded again, Davis delivered a grand slam to center field, notching her second home run of the afternoon, along with five total RBIs. Unfortunately, it was not enough, as the game ended with that 16-7 score on the board after five frames.
Southwestern's offense fizzled in game two, as they only managed three hits in five innings. Meanwhile, York only put up tallies in two separate innings. In the first, a three-run dinger made it 3-0 for the Panthers early on.
Later in the battle, another big inning was produced by the Panthers, as five runs came across in the top of the fifth inning. A pair of two-run doubles, along with a run-scoring single, made it 8-0 with just one chance remaining for SC to keep the game alive. The Builders had two hitters reach on errors in the fifth, but had already recorded two outs, and a lineout ended the game 8-0 after five.
Davis (2-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R) was the star for the Moundbuilders, hitting her first two round-trippers of the year in her final games of the year. In addition to Davis' efforts, Lytle provided two hits across five at-bats on the day. She had an RBI and a run scored, while both of her hits were doubles. Loren Wright was 2-for-5 with a run scored, and Kelsey Daniel was 2-for-3 as a pinch-hitter on the afternoon. Both Alexus Johnson and Favors had single hits on Monday, as well.
Al. Johnson (3 IP, 6 H, 9 R (5 ER), 3 BB) and Jordan Gates (2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, BB) teamed up to pitch game one, while Ryleigh Branstetter (4.2 IP, 13 H, 8 ER, K, 5 BB) and Addison Johnson (0.1 IP) ended up combining for five frames in the second tilt.
Southwestern's (5-36, 3-21 KCAC) has come to an end, as the squad finished the season with four wins in the final month of the campaign. Some encouraging steps in the right direction were taken, as the squad will look to improve their roster and come into the 2024 season with loftier aspirations.
--buildersports.com--
