SNYDER, Texas - Using some late-game heroics, the Dodge City Community College softball team picked up a 10-4 eight-inning road win at Western Texas College before dropping game two of their doubleheader 14-6 in five innings in Snyder, Texas on Friday, February 24th. 

DC3 is now 5-3 on the season while the Lady Westerners improved to 7-11 overall. 

Game one had a little bit of everything, with three scoreless innings followed by a scoring burst by WTC in the fourth and a two-run game-tying seventh inning for Dodge City before the Conquistadors batted around in the extra frame for six runs to pull away. The start of the game would indicate a pitcher's duel was breaking out, as a total of two hits (both by Western Texas) would be recorded in the first three innings of play. Dodge City would break-up the perfect game attempt by Western Texas in the top of the fourth, wth Brittney Gonzalez reaching on a throwing error by the first baseman on a bunt attempt before Adreanna Guerrero would bring around Gonzalez on a double to center field. The Lady Westerners would score all four of their runs in the game in the fourth inning on three hits and one error to jump out to a three-run lead, which at the time would seem like more than enough run support for starting pitcher Aryn Flores.

A single run in the top half of the fifth would be all that could be mustered by Dodge City, using a Makayla Tegtmeier one-out double and Kylie Fox single to bring around pinch runner Paige Kirby, who was running for Tegtmeier. Down to their final three outs of the game, Tegtmeir would start the seventh with a leadoff double before a pop out and ground out would see the Conquistadors down to their final out. Gonzalez would come up to the plate and be down to her final strike when the sophomore would blast a home run oer the right field fence to tie the game at four and provide Dodge City with new life.

Pitcher Kim Herron would retire the Lady Westerners in order in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game into extra-innings for the first time this year for DC3. With the international tiebreaker rule in place to start the eighth inning, Dodge City would collect three hits in their first four batters capped off by a Brooklyn Botts solo home run following Herron and Adreanna Guerrero scoring on the previous play after Flores would throw the ball out of play trying to get Guerrero out at third. The Conquistadors would tack on one more run to finish with six runs on six hits in the inning to take a commanding 10-4 lead into the bottom half of the extra-frame, which would be more than enough for Herron to finish the job. 

The Shawnee, Oklahoma native would go the distance on the rubber, throwing all eight innings and striking out eight while giving up four runs (one earned) on six hits. Guerrero would provide the big bat at the plate in game one, going three-for-five with one run batted in while also scoring a run. Freshman Morgan Ihle would collect a hit in her only at-bat of the game while Fox and Gonzalez would drive in a pair of runs each. 

Dodge City would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game one before Western Texas would respond with three runs of their own to take the lead for good. DC3 would go down in order in the second before the Lady Westerners would score three runs on four hits in the second to push their lead to 6-2 as the Conquistadors would cut into the lead just slightly in the third by pushing a single run across home plate. Three more runs for Western Texas in the third would give WTC a 9-3 lead heading into the fourth as Conquistadors would answer with three runs of their own with Fox driving in all three runs with a one-out double to left field. The fourth inning would be the only inning that the Lady Westerners would not score three runs, scoring just two runs before ending the game in the bottom of the fifth with three more runs. 

Jordyn McDaniel would drop to 2-2 overall on the season by taking the loss with two innings pitched while giving up seven runs and walking one. Cassie Overturf (0.2 innings) and Matti Tieben (2.0 innings) also saw time on the mound in relief. Fox and Breanna Guerrero would record five of the nine Conquistador hits in game two with Fox collecting a hit in all three at-bats while driving in three runs and Guerrero scoring a run. Baylee Rial would record the only other Dodge City extra-base hit with a first-inning triple. 

Continuing their four-game Texas swing, DC3 will play two games tomorrow at Clarendon College starting at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs head into the doubleheader 11-5 overall after splitting a two-game series with Seward County on Wednesday afternoon.