McPHERSON - Kansas Wesleyan Softball's seventh inning rally in the first game came up just short, but the Coyotes answered the bell in the second game to earn a split with McPherson College Bulldogs on Tuesday at Bulldog Park.
McPherson scored first in the first game, plating a run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly.
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the third inning on a 2-run single but did not score again.
Neither team scored again until the top of the seventh. Deja Rubio led off the inning with a homer and after walks to Jenna Soule and Keira Hammen, Trenity Miller drove in a run with a double. The Coyotes would strand the tying run at third however, falling 3-2.
Briannah Kutschkau had two of KWU's six hits. Caitlyn Collier had a complete game performance but suffered the loss allowing three runs on eight hits.
The Coyotes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the second game as Cadence Mallet was hit by a pitch and then scored on Miller's RBI ground out. The Coyotes would strand the bases loaded in the inning.
Wesleyan blew the game open in the second. Rubio led off the inning with a hit and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Josie Buhr. Soule's single moved Rubio to third who then scored on Mallet's sacrifice fly. A wild pitch scored Soule and pinch runner Hailey Summers scored on Elli Han's single. Kutschkau reached on a fielder's choice plus error and Pierce followed with a 3-run homer to make it 8-0 Coyotes.
McPherson avoided early endings by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth, and the Coyotes added a little insurance in the sixth as Pierce singled to score pinch runner Kylar Smith.
Wesleyan avoided danger in the sixth getting McPherson to leave two runners on, and then ended things with a double play.
Alli Mickelsen had a solid outing in five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Bella Allen closed things out with two innings of work, allowing just one hit.
Miller and Pierce had two hits each. Pierce drove in four.