Seward got on the board right away on Wednesday, getting a two run home run from Kristyna Garcia in the top half of the 1st to put the Lady Saints ahead 2- 0 before Dodge City got their first at bats of the game.
It remained a 2-0 game to the bottom of the 3rd when Dodge City cracked the scoreboard for the first time on the afternoon with a two out single to slice the Lady Saints lead in half to 2-1.
The Lady Saints got their run back in the top of the 5th as Jordan Garrison led off the frame with a solo bomb to make it a 3-1 game, but Dodge matched that run with one of their own in the 6th to send the game to the final inning in a one run contest at 3-2 Seward.
Just as she did in the 5th, Garrison led off the 7th with another solo bomb to give the Lady Saints some breathing room, but Seward ace Monique Ashley wouldn’t need it as she retired the Conqs in order in the bottom of the inning, including getting a strikeout to end the ballgame in a 4-2 Seward County win.
Seward outhit Dodge 10-4 in the contest, getting a 2-4 effort from Garrison who homered twice. Garcia also finished with two hits and two RBI’s for the Lady Saints while AJ Cuellar was a perfect 3 for 3 with a double in the seven hole for Seward. Ashley went the distance for Seward to earn her 22nd win of the season, allowing four hits and two runs while punching out seven in the victory.
SEWARD COUNTY/DODGE CITY GAME ONE BOX SCORE<http://www.sewardsaints.com/sports/sball/2016-17/boxscores/20170419_bh97.xml>
In game two the Lady Saints rallied with two outs in the 2nd to score three times, two on a single from Maycee Koontz and another on a single from Garcia to give the gals in green an early 3-0 lead.
Seward extended their lead to 5-0 in the 3rd as Sage Harrison cracked her 12th home run of the season for the Lady Saints.
Lady Saints starter Ruby Gonzalez was cruising until the 4th when the Conqs finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of two out runs to get back to within three at 5-2.
Seward got a run back in the 5th, but Dodge City answered right back, scoring two on a Lady Saint error and then three more on a home run to give the Conqs their first lead of the game at 7-6.
It looked like it was going to be another disappointing game two loss for Seward in the 7th as they were down to their final strike of the game, but that’s when Harrison turned on the dramatics, sending a 2-2 pitch flying over the center field wall for a solo home run to tie the game at seven.
The Lady Saints weren’t out of the woods yet though as Dodge put two on with nobody out in the bottom of the 7th as they tried for a walk off win, but out of the Seward bullpen, Ashley saved her best for last, retiring three straight hitters, including back to back strikeouts to extinguish the fire to send the game to extras.
A Dodge City error allowed the Lady Saints to get something going in the 8th and the middle of the Seward order took care of business as Leena Mortensen and Sydney Epp drove home runs to give Seward a two run cushion at 9-7.
The Conqs got a solo home run to lead off their half of the 8th, but Ashley would shut them down from there, preserving a 9-8 win for Seward to complete the sweep.
Both teams found the barrel with consistency in the extra innings affair as the Lady Saints finished with 17 hits and Dodge City 16. Six different Seward hitters had multiple hit games including Garcia who finished with four and Epp who had three. Harrison delivered the big blows, cracking two home runs and driving in three in the win. Ashley came out of the Seward pen to earn the win, going 3 1/3 while yielding just one run to improve to 23-4 on the year.
SEWARD COUNTY/DODGE CITY GAME TWO BOX SCORE<http://www.sewardsaints.com/sports/sball/2016-17/boxscores/20170419_bixr.xml>
Seward improves to 39-17 overall on the year with the sweep while boosting their Jayhawk West record to 14-7. Dodge falls to 23-15 and 11-11 in league play.
The Lady Saints will play for the final time at home on Friday when they host #1 Butler at 2:00 at Lady Saints Field in Liberal.