As part of their final road series of the season, the Redhawks’ softball team took on the University of Missouri, Kansas City in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play. Going into their doubleheader on Friday, both teams had a 4-5 record, meaning that the outcome would inevitably have an effect on their standings.
Friday’s first game began with a run from Kansas City, which Seattle was quick to match. After the Kangaroos’ brief 2-1 lead, Seattle U ended the fourth inning on a tied game, and turned things around with a dominating performance in the fifth. Our team scored 5 runs after their first out, ending with a homer from first-year Madison Cathcart. UMKC responded with 2 runs in the following inning, which the Redhawks would later match and exceed for a decisive final score of 10-4. This game had the Redhawks setting their season high with 17 hits, while senior Alyssa Reuble pitched two impressive scoreless innings.
The following match also began with an early run from UMKC, but Seattle’s response put them at a 3-1 advantage at the top of the fourth. The fifth inning proved to be a turning point, much like the previous game, only this time it was Kansas City that walked away with the lead. Their 5 runs in the fourth inning put them at a score of 6-3, which was later compounded by 2 more runs in the fifth. The Redhawks responded with 3 runs of their own, which aided in closing the gap but still left the final score 9-7 in favor of the Kangaroos.
With Friday leaving the series split, the teams moved on to the final game on Saturday to determine the outcome. Though there was only 1 run scored in the first two innings, both teams improved their offense tremendously in the midgame portion. The Redhawks scored 2 runs in third inning and 4 more in the next, while UMKC followed closely with 5 runs of their own. The score would remain tied at 6-6 from the fourth forward and resulted in two extra innings. As pressure mounted to close out the game, Seattle did so spectacularly, scoring 6 runs at the top of ninth, to which Kansas City had no response.
As a result of their games against UMKC, the Redhawks have been bumped up to third place in the WAC standings. Grand Canyon University, who currently holds second, is ineligible for the WAC tournament, which puts Seattle U in the second seed for the postseason. With only one week left in their regular season, the team looks to its final series against CSU Bakersfield. The games will take place this weekend at Logan Field, giving students the perfect opportunity to support softball in their last game.
Carlos may be reached at
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