Ulysses softball sweeps shorthanded Lady Beavers

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–With GWAC title implications on the line, Scott City and Ulysses faced off Saturday afternoon in a make up doubleheader from Tuesday. Down two players in the lineup, the Lady Beavers struggled, and Ulysses moved to being the front-runner for a league title with a 7-3 and 4-1 doubleheader win over the Scott City.

Ulysses 7, Scott City 3, Game 1
Ulysses jumped on the Lady Beavers early on, taking advantage of key errors. In their first at bat, it was Gabby Gutierrez taking advantage of an error, with a two-run double to give them the early 2-0 lead. They would add to their lead in the third inning on a Gutierrez RBI single, scoring Gina Ballesteros. Scott City would get on the board in the bottom of the third inning, scoring two runs, capped off by a Nancy Wiebe RBI groundout that pulled Scott City to within 3-2. In the top of the fourth, Ulysses would distance themselves. Two errors proved costly by the Lady Beavers, and the Lady Tigers would score three runs to go up 6-3. Scott City added a run in the bottom of the fifth, and Ulysses got an RBI single by Dene Watie in the seventh to give them the 7-3 win. Gutierrez was 2-3 in the game with an RBI and a run schored. Watie picked up the win, going all seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits with four strikeouts. She also had two hits and drove in a run. Kaitlyn Roberts took the loss, going all seven innings, giving up seven runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. Aspyn Nix had two hits, and Krystal Appel scored two runs. The Lady Beavers had four errors in the first game

Ulysses 4, Scott City 1, Game 2
In a defensive game, it comes down to the little things. It was the little things that hurt the Lady Beavers. Similar to the first game, errors would hurt Scott City. Ulysses took advantage onf a one-out error to get on the board first in the second inning, as Gabby Gutierrez scored on an error, and Dene Waite hit a two-out single to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead. That score would hold up until the fifth inning, when Ulysses took a 3-0 lead. Scott City would answer back with their lone run in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull to within 3-1. An RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth inning by Nicole Wilken that scored Alejandra Corral to give them the 4-1 lead. Both teams would be retired in order in the seventh, as the Lady Tigers moved to the top of the league standings. Dene Waite went all seven innings to get the win, giving up one run on seven hits, and got four strikeouts. Gutierrez and Natalie Bower had two hits apiece for the Lady Tigers. Kaitlyn Roberts took the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits with a strikeout in the second game. Krystal Appel, Nancy Wiebe and Aspyn Nix had a two-hit game each.

After Saturday, Ulysses improved to 10-4 overall, and 6-2 in GWAC play. They will play at Hugoton on Tuesday. With one win, they would clinch at least a share of the league title. With two wins, they would win the league outright. Scott City drops to 12-6 overall, and finishes 6-4 in conference play. They will finish fourth in GWAC play. The Lady Beavers will host Stanton County on Thursday to wrap up the regular season. However, those games will not count toward regional seeding, which takes place on Wednesday.

Coach Erin Myers Postgame