Softball | 2/19/2018 4:45:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Goodwell, Okla.—Panhandle State Softball gained two wins on the weekend in a four-game home-opener series with McPherson College Saturday and Sunday. The Aggies dropped game one on each day, losing 3-0 on Saturday and 11-1 on Sunday to the Bulldogs. The team rallied back with game-two victories both days (7-5, 14-13) to improve their season record to 3-8.

Saturday's first appearance brought junior Lindsay Jacobs to the circle for Panhandle. Jacobs took nine hits and one earned run over 32 batters faced in the seven-inning stretch. Despite a diligent effort out of Jacobs the Aggies' poor performance at the plate left runners stranded on base in every inning. The Bulldogs plated two runs in the first inning on a double and an RBI-single, followed by a final run scored in the third on a single. Panhandle State sent nine hits over 28 at bats, with catcher Haleigh Scott and second baseman Faith Guzman each driving doubles in the game. Jacobs took the loss to land 1-3 for the season and McPherson's Christie Betker earned her second win of the season, throwing seven strikeouts in game one.

Game two got off to a better start for the Aggies as they sent an unearned run through on an error in the first inning, and added three more runs in the second on a double by centerfielder Jewell Lee and a sac-fly by first baseman Brooklyne Bolton. The Bulldogs scored a single run in the first inning and pulled within one run of the Aggies in the top of the third, scoring two runners on an RBI single. Senior Julia Ibarra got the start on the rubber for Panhandle State in game two and lasted six full innings, allowing 13 hits and four earned runs on her watch. McPherson brought in one runner in the fifth and one in the seventh with Jacobs back in the circle for the final inning. The Aggies held their lead and added one run in the fourth as Bolton hit a single to right-center to score Lee and gain a 5-3 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, Lee reached base on an error to bring in an unearned run and designated player Anjunessia Husband hit a sac-fly for the Aggies' final run of the day. Ibarra claimed her first victory of the season and Jacobs got the save.

The western Oklahoma wind was huge factor in Sunday's matchups, with sustained winds above 30 mph and gusts close to 50. The Bulldogs took advantage of the adverse conditions and capitalized on a few errors by Panhandle State to take the five-inning wins by ten runs. Ibarra took the circle in game one and struck out two batters in the first inning; but two fielding errors by the Aggies allowed two unearned runs to score, putting the Bulldogs in an early lead. Aggie batters went three up and three down over the first three innings of the game, and McPherson pulled in three runs in the top of the second on three hits and an error. The Aggies subbed out the entire infield and two outfield positions in the top of the fourth and brought sophomore Emily Worley in to relieve Ibarra at pitcher. The bulldogs proceeded to bring in three runs in the fourth and three in the fifth, while the Aggies lone run was brought through in the bottom of the fourth. Lee snuck a bunt in and reached first prior to a throwing error from third base; she covered the bases as the ball was bobbled. Ibarra held the loss and Betker gained her third win for McPherson.

Game two on Sunday went the distance with heavy hitting on both sides thanks to the out-blowing winds. Jacobs entered the circle to start for the Aggies and lasted six innings, giving up 17 hits and 11 earned runs. McPherson went up 8-1 in the top of the third scoring one run in the first, four in the second and three in the third. Panhandle opened scoring with an RBI-fielder's choice by Jaylinn Reyes in the first to tied things up at 1-1. An empty second inning left the Aggies down 5-1 going into the third, but a big seven-run inning in the bottom of the third evened the score once again at 8-8. Ibarra started things off with an RBI-double to centerfield and was brought in by a one-run single from Reyes. Back-to-back doubles by Jena Koniezcka and Jacobs added three more runs for the Aggies and a big triple from Karah Ortiz yielded one RBI. Husband stepped up with an RBI-single for the tying run. A scoreless fourth left eights on the board for both teams. The Bulldogs knocked a double in the fifth to pull ahead by one run (9-8), but the Aggies answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning to edge their first lead of the day (12-9); Lee and Bolton each brought in two RBI for the Aggies. McPherson rallied back with four runs of their own in the sixth to reclaim the advantage (13-12) and kept the Aggies quiet until the bottom of the seventh. Reyes hit a walk-off double to score two unearned runs and clinch the game-four victory for Panhandle State. Ibarra earned the win in the final inning allowing zero hits.

For the series, Jewell Lee led the Aggie batters with a .643 average and four RBI. Lee went 9-14 at the plate including two doubles and a triple and scored seven runs on the weekend. Brooklyne Bolton and Jaylinn Reyes also brought in four RBI for the Aggies with one double each in the series. Panhandle State finished with a .361 team batting average and totaled ten doubles and two triples over the four-game stint. The Bulldogs averaged .411 in hitting and sent ten for extra bases including the weekend's only homerun in game four. Ibarra led the Aggie pitching crew with a 5.40 ERA and totaled three strikeouts and four base on balls over ten innings pitched; Jacobs threw four strikeouts and three walks over 14 innings of work.

Aggie Softball remains at home this week with their Sooner Athletic Conference season-opener against Central Christian Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24. Friday's double-header begins at 1 p.m. and Saturday's DH is set for a Noon start. Live stats will be offered for all four games.