By Taylor Perez
Often times, many teams wait for their defining moment. For Mac’s softball team, their moment was on February 24, 2019. The McPherson College softball program is in its first season coached by Tony Segovia. Coach Segovia is a McPherson College alum, and has finally returned home to Mac after many years. His return has not been one of silence. The Lady Bulldogs (6-7) faced number one ranked Oklahoma City University (18-2) in an intense and competitive atmosphere. “The game against Oklahoma City was one of the most intense games I’ve been a part of as a coach or player,” said assistant coach Tori Beltz. After starting the game off down 0-1, the Bulldogs’ bats began to heat up. They managed to bring the score to 5-1 by the bottom of the 5th inning. Once the Bulldogs started tacking up runs, they allowed only one more run to be scored in the 4th inning, bringing the final score to 5-2. “The team has been working hard all winter long. It was a great team win and we hope we can continue to build on it throughout the season,” said Coach Segovia. In the circle for the Bulldogs was junior pitcher Brittany Baroni, who got her first win as a Bulldog with this very game while giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits.
“I am very happy for the players,” said Coach Segovia. “I have a lot of respect for Oklahoma City’s program and all their success. Being able to beat the number one team in the country is something these players will always remember.” The OCU Stars secured the NAIA Softball National Title in 2017, however they fell to No. 2 USAO in the 2018 championship. “They are consistently a very strong program,” said Coach Beltz. “We knew it would take our best efforts to win that game. It was one hundred percent a team victory and I’m very proud of the way we came together to get that win,” she finished. The Bulldogs start their conference season on March 12, facing the Tabor College Bluejays. The team hopes to use their win over OCU to roll through their conference season with power and dominance.
