Softball Defeats MACU

Central’s softball team would break a 27 game and 13-year long drought this Friday in Game 1 of the series opener against the MACU Evangels. It would take more than the scheduled 7 innings to finish game 1 as Tigers would win it in the 8th 4-3. This would be the Tiger’s first SAC win of the year and the first time to beat MACU since their first meeting in 2007. The Tigers would give the Evangels their first loss of the season and keep the Tigers undefeated through 3 games.

Game two of the series wouldn’t be as dramatic as the first as the Evangels and Tigers would have a close game through 4 innings until the Evangels put a 5 spot up in the 5th inning. Unfortunately, the Tigers couldn’t put up their own big inning and would only score 1 more run to end the game 8-3.

In game 1 Ashton Nelson would continue her dominant performance at the plate as she would have another multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a triple. Madison Walker and Jessica Aldana would have the other 2 RBI’s on the day for the Tigers. The Tigers offense would collect 6 totals hits, 5 left on base, and 2 extra-base hits.

Freshman Pitcher Mekaylee Beard would have a complete game going all 8 innings for the Tigers. She would allow 8 hits, give up 3 earned runs, have 3 strikeouts, allow a walk and strand 3 baserunners. Mekaylee Beard would pick up the win on the day improving her record to 2-0 on the season.

Coach Annis had this to say about Game One

“Mekaylee Beard kept us alive in game 1. Her pitching was on cue and our defense really stepped up. When we had runners in scoring position we executed the play. It was stressful going into the 8th inning, but this team stepped up and finished strong.”

Game two would be a different story offensively and defensively. The Tigers were able to collect more hits (10) but would strand 9 baserunners. Taylor Bourne would have a better game at the plate collecting 2 hits and an RBI. Altavia Hall would also have a multi-hit game and get an RBI. Kaitlyn Kindle would be the 3rd Tigers to have a multi-hit game. Nicole Herrera would be the other Tiger to collect an RBI. Tigers would bat well in game two, but couldn’t get the runners home.

Hannah Hoffman would get the start for the Tigers. The stats will say she let up 8 runs, but only 2 were earned on the day. She would go 4 1/3 innings giving up 8 hits, 6 walks, and striking out 2. Cheyann Sales would come and pitch relief for the Tigers and she would shut down the Evangels for the 1 2/3 she would pitch. She would only walk 1 and give up 2 hits and striking out 1.

Coach Annis said this about game 2

“Game 2 was a different story. I thought we hung in there with them for the first 4 innings. We had a few errors and walks in the 5th that got the best of us. We just couldn’t overcome that 5 run inning.”

About Central Christian College of Kansas

Central Christian College of Kansas is a four-year collegiate institution that strives to offer Christ-centered education for the whole person – heart, mind, body, and soul. Its history dates back to 1884, and it is located in the friendly town of McPherson, Kansas. Central is a strategically small college that offers over forty areas of residential study and a thriving online program for non-traditional students. To learn more about who Central is, go to centralchristian.edu/about. Visit the athletics website to follow the softball team and the other athletic programs.