Kansas City, Kansas - Comet Softball traveled to Kansas City, Kansas this weekend to participate in the NAIA KC Invite hosted by Avila University. On Day 1 Mayville State battled the Benedictine College Ravens and the #10 ranked Midland Warriors. The Comets offense could not get rolling as they fell 8-0 to the Ravens and 6-1 to the Warriors.
Game 1 vs. Benedictine College (KS) L 8-0
Frigid temps at first pitch didn't stop the Ravens from getting on the scoreboard in the top of the first.
Samantha Shumway cracked a ground rule double to open the bottom of the first but the Comets were unable to get her to home plate.
Courtney Boll pitched three strong innings allowing only one run and four hits. However, Benedictine broke through in the top of the fourth inning with four runs, which made the score 5-0.
The Ravens tacked on three more in the fifth, which made the final score 8-0.
"Defensively we have got to help ourselves out of innings, offensively we have to find ways to make adjustments earlier in the box and have a plan at the plate," said head coach
Jordan Olson. "I felt Courtney got us off to a great start and pitched three tough innings. The bats have to wake up and defense has to find ways to play behind her."
Game 2 vs. #10 Midland University (NE) L 6-1
The Comets looked to get the bats going against the Warriors after a two hour game break.
Midland raced out to an early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first but
Emily Haines kept the Warriors off the scoreboard the next three innings and allowed only three hits.
Midland managed three more runs in the bottom of the fifth which made the score 6-0.
In the top of the sixth, Shumway doubled again. Megan Elliot launched a sacrifice fly to center which plated Shumway and sliced the deficit to 6-1.
Mayville State was unable to get any runs across in the seventh, which made the final score 6-1.
Erika Howell went 2 for 3 in the game, and Shumway added a double and a run. Haines went five innings with three strikeouts.
"Midland is a tough team. They are fast, can hit the ball and have arms in the circle. We knew we would need top effort on the mound and from our defense. We also knew any mistake they made on defense or in the circle we would need to capitalize on in order to win. Emily pitched lights out against one of the top teams in the country. I felt we played better defense but we need to find ways to have more competitive at bats and get base runners on," added Olson.
The Comets record now stands at 0-6. Mayville State returns to the field tomorrow with games against Park University and MidAmerica Nazarene University. First pitch is at 10:00am.
"Though starting off 0-6 isn't what anyone hopes for, we are focusing on in house details and looking to win innings and keep one foot in front of the other. We have 40 plus more games to play so we know it is a marathon not a sprint and there's no reason to hit the panic button," said Olson.
