Tabor softball sweeps McPherson

Stormie Bush scores on Sara Vela?s single during the bottom of the second inning of Game 2 against Friends Wednesday. Bush got on base with a double in that inning. Tabor lost the game, 6-2, splitting the doubleheader with the Falcons, after earning a 2-0 win in Game 1. Tabor went on to sweep McPherson Saturday. Janae Rempel / Free Press

The Tabor College softball team improved to 6-2 in KCAC play, 17-18 overall after splitting a doubleheader with Friends and sweeping McPherson last week.

McPherson?The Bluejays swept the Bulldogs on the road Saturday.

Tabor won Game 1, 8-0. Bluejay starter Marilee Burge pitched the complete game shutout, scattering five hits over seven innings of work. She walked one batter and struck out nine and was named KCAC pitcher of the week.

After three scoreless innings, Tabor plated a run in the top of the fourth inning. Kellyn Holt led off with a double and advanced to third on Jordan Haney?s sacrifice bunt. Holt scored when Araselly Vargas hit a sacrifice fly.

Tabor scored two more in the top of the fifth. Madison Tracy led off with a double, and Stormie Bush followed with an RBI double to score Tracy. Chelsea Nutt hit an RBI single later in the inning to give Tabor a 3-0 lead.

The Bluejays solidified the win with five runs off of six hits in the seventh inning. In that inning, Sara Vela and Vargas hit doubles, and Yasnaya Susoeff, Nutt, Holt and Lauren Massey hit singles.

Nutt was 2-for-3 at-bat and had two RBIs. Holt was 2-for-4, including a double, and had one RBI.

Tabor followed with a 9-7 win in Game 2.

Second baseman Yasnaya Susoeff makes the throw to Lauren Massey at first to secure the first out in the top of the third inning of Game 1 against Friends Wednesday. Tabor won that game, 2-0, but split the doubleheader with the Falcons with a 6-2 loss in Game 2. Janae Rempel / Free Press

The Bluejays took an early, 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jordan Haney hit an RBI single. Tabor added a run in the top of the second thanks to Sara Vela?s RBI double.

After McPherson scored in the bottom of the second to close the gap to 2-1, Tabor increased its lead with five runs in the third inning, which was highlighted by a two-run home run by Massey.

But McPherson battled back to tie the game at 7 through five innings.

Tabor scored the winning two runs in the top of the seventh. After Madison Tracy singled, Ashton Bowen hit a double. Vela then hit a two-RBI single to bring them home.

Pitching in relief in the bottom of the seventh, Burge retired the side in order, including two strikeouts, and was credited with the save. Tristen Hall was the winning pitcher. In two innings pitched in relief, she gave up three hits and no runs.

Tracy and Vela were both 3-for-4 at-bat. Vela led the team with three RBIs.

Friends?Tabor split a doubleheader Wednesday. The Bluejays won Game 1, 2-0. The teams battled through five scoreless innings?with Tabor leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth?before the Bluejays got on the board with a pair of runs in the sixth inning.

Kellyn Holt started things off with a single, then Jordan Haney hit a sacrifice bunt. Araselly Vargas singled to bring Holt home. Lauren Massey then hit an RBI double to conclude scoring for the inning and the game.

Both starting pitchers went the distance, with Marilee Burge picking up the win for Tabor. She scattered three hits over seven innings of work. She walked no one and struck out six batters.

Tabor lost Game 2, 6-2. Friends took the lead with a pair of runs in the first inning and never relinquished it. The Bluejays plated a run in the second inning when Sara Vela followed a Stormie Bush double with a single that brought Bush home.

The Falcons, however, added a run in the third inning and two more in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead heading into the final inning. Both teams scored once in the seventh; Tabor?s came on an RBI single by Britt?any Castaneda, but the effort was not enough to pull off the comeback.

Vela was 2-for-3 at-bat and had one RBI. Burge (9-8) absorbed the pitching loss. In three innings, she gave up five hits and three runs (all earned). She walked one batter and struck out two.

Coming?Tabor was scheduled to host the University of Saint Mary (5-3, 23-12-1) Tuesday before traveling to Ottawa (6-2, 17-14) Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

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