Panthers take second at MCAC Tournament

After staying alive with a 5-3 win in their elimination game with Peru State College on Friday afternoon, the YC Panther softball team was just nine outs away from forcing a second game with the Bellevue Bruins for the MCAC (Midland Collegiate Athletic Conference) Tournament Championship.
But one of the biggest “Cinderella” stories of the season had to come to an end as the Bruins scored eight runs in their final two innings at bat to claim the MCAC top prize with an 11-6 win.
The York College Panthers went to the MCAC Tournament with just nine players, and they proved without a doubt they were a team to be reckoned with.
On Friday in the battle with Peru State the Panthers scored five times in the third to take a 5-0 lead, as the Panthers loaded the bases before Tawny Bales doubled two drive in two runs and that was followed by a Beth Johnson hit that plated another run.
An errant throw on an Amber William’s grounder allowed both Bales and Johnson to score the fourth and fifth runs of the game.
York pitcher Williams allowed a single Bobcat run in the fourth and two in the sixth, but held on for the 5-3 win. Williams pitching her third consecutive game in two days allowed just five hits and struckout one.
York finished with eight hits, led by Bales with a 2-3 effort, while Norma Aguilar, Jessica Wilson, Sara Slovacek, Johnson, Williams and Tiffany Best accounted for the other hits.
On Friday evening in the Panthers’ second game of the day, Bellevue came out of the gates fast as they scored two in the first to take the early lead.
The Panthers tied the game at 2-2 in the top of third, but Bellevue went right back to work to get a single run to go back on top 3-2.
The Panthers loaded the bases in the fourth, and a Jessica Wilson’s single scored two runs, while Slovacek singled to score two more and put the Panthers on top 6-3.
But that lead would not hold up as Williams was touched up for eight hits and eight runs in the final two innings. YC hurt their own cause with three errors in the game.
Bellevue scored three in the fifth to tie the game, then the flood gates opened as the Bruins added five in the sixth to pretty much seal the tournament championship.
Both teams registered eight hits as Laura Crowson, Wilson and Slovacek all had two hits to lead the Panthers.
With the second place tournament finish York College (12-24) qualified for the Regional Tournament next week.

Game 1
Peru State College (25-22)    000 102 0- 3     5     2
York College (12-23)               005 000 X- 5     8     1
WP - Amber Williams   LP - Lauren Fiori

Game 2
York College (12-24)        002 400 0- 6     8     3
Bellevue Univ. (27-12)     201 035 X- 11   8     1
WP - Miller    LP- A. Williams