Baseball | 3/16/2013 8:38:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – The first round of conference games for the KCAC baseball teams occurred this weekend and the Bulldogs of McPherson College took on Tabor College. Two games in Hillsboro ended in two wins for the Blue Jays, 11-1 and 10-4 on Friday. Back in McPherson on Saturday went TC’s way again as they came out on top 8-5 and 10-2.
Game 1 – at Tabor College – L 11-1
The opening game of the series started with the Jays jumping out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning. MC scored one in the top of the second as
Keegan Bednasek (Topeka, Kan.) singled in
Zach Wilson (Miliken, Colo.). Tabor put another run on the board in the third followed by two more in the fourth and six in the fifth. The ‘Dogs had trouble scoring the rest of the contest and went down 11-1 at the end of the competition.
Just three hits were tallied by Mac in the loss; Bednasek,
Dorian Shelton (Kansas City, Mo.) and
Jose Nossa (Valencia, Venezuela) each recorded one. Three other players got on board on walks while
Josh Grant (Paris, Texas) made it to first via an error.
The Blue Jays scored their 11 runs on eight hits and were led by Kirk Rocha who was 3-of-3 from behind the plate while also earning a walk. Five other players logged a hit in their game one win.
Scott Hughes (Albuquerque, N.M.) recorded the loss for MC from the mound; he surrendered 10 earned runs in his four innings while striking out six of the 18 batters he faced.
Tyler Watie (Ulysses, Kan.) relieved Hughes in the middle of the fifth and closed out the inning, allowing one run.
Jalen Davenport (Miliken, Colo.) finished the game for McPherson, tallying one strikeout and two fly outs in the last inning.
Game 2 – at Tabor College – L 10-4
The ‘Dogs jumped out in front of the second competition as
Taylor Werts (Mansfield, Texas) brought in Grant on an infield hit in inning one. The lead was short lived as four runs by the Jays in the bottom half of the inning gave Tabor the advantage, something they didn’t give up for the remainder of the contest.
TC put another up before Mac scored one in the fourth on a
Victor Betancourt (Margarita Island, Venezuela) double that sent home Wilson. Two more Blue Jays crossed the plate in the fifth to put the score at 7-2. McPherson strung a few hits together in the sixth to score twice;
Brendan Miller (Taber, Alberta, Canada) homered as the first batter of the inning while Werts scored on a sacrifice by Nossa.
Tabor scored three in the bottom half of the inning and held MC in the seventh to grab their 10-4 victory.
The sticks worked better for the Bulldogs the second time around with TC. The team totaled eight hits with Miller and Betancourt leading the way with two; four other ‘Dogs recorded one knock of the ball. There were four different players that tallied a RBI.
The Blue Jays increased their hit total as well as they put the ball in to play 12 times; Keenan Chanin bested the squad with three. There were two players that grabbed two hits and four more earned one.
Nolan Huelsmann (Goddard, Kan.) went five and two thirds innings for MC, allowing 10 runs, nine of which were earned; he struck out two while surrendering all 12 Tabor hits. Davenport ended the game from the mound for the Bulldogs, throwing six pitches to the one batter he faced who popped out to short.
Game 3 – vs. Tabor College – L 8-5
This was a difficult loss for Mac as they appeared to be in control for the first five innings. The ‘Dogs shut down TC for the first three innings while taking a 3-0 lead. A triple by Miller brought home
Jonny Mills (Dodge City, Kan.) and Grant; Miller scored himself on a stolen base as the Blue Jays were worried about Werts’ running on the base path.
One run was scored by the Jays in the fourth but McPherson put two more up in the bottom half of the inning as Shelton sent in Mills and Nossa with his double to left, going up 5-1.
Another shutout inning brought the sixth which is where Tabor took over; four runs were totaled by the Blue Jays as they batted around the lineup. Both squads went hitless for the next inning, forcing them to play longer than the typical seven. TC brought in three runs in the ninth and the Bulldogs couldn’t answer putting the series record at 3-0 Blue Jays.
Despite scoring five runs, Mac ended the game with only four hits; Wilson, Shelton, Miller and Nossa each totaled one with three of those being for extra bases.
11 hits were tallied by Tabor with five players grabbing two apiece. CJ DeDeaux put up two RBI with his lone bat of the ball to lead the team.
Werts started things off pitching and looked to be on pace for a complete game until the difficult sixth inning ended his time on the mound; he surrendered nine hits and four runs but was able to strikeout three. Davenport relieved Werts in the middle of the sixth and then was quickly replaced by Grant who took down two Blue Jays before
Colter Streck (Woodland Park, Colo.) closed out the inning. Streck pitched the next two innings, allowing zero runs on one hit. Watie entered in the ninth and gave up three runs, earning the loss.
Game 4 – vs. Tabor College – L 10-2
Using the momentum gained in the final inning of the previous game, Tabor came out firing in the last contest of the series, scoring four in the first two innings and putting a run on the board in five of the seven innings.
McPherson scored one in the bottom of the third as Shelton singled in Wilson, putting the score at 4-1 after three. Two more runs in both the fourth and sixth by TC brought MC’s deficit to seven. Shelton scored in the sixth and was followed by two Blue Jays in the seventh, bringing the Bulldogs to a 4-15 overall record after the 10-2 loss.
Mills recorded the lone hit for Mac in the loss; he, along with Grant and Miller made it safely to first after walks while
Lane Barton (Moundridge, Kan.) and Wilson got aboard after getting hit by a pitch.
Tabor had eight hits in their final win of the series; Art Corona, Wes Moody and Kirk Rocha each tallied two. Kevin Seeger brought in a team-high two RBIs on his single.
Izak Wherry (Derby, Kan.) picked up the loss for the Bulldogs after surrendering four earned runs in the first three innings; he struck out three before being relieved by
Brant Rhoades (Burlington, Colo). Rhoades finished out the game, allowing six unearned runs out of the 21 batters he faced.
Mac baseball is back in action on Thursday as they host the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes on March 21
st; start time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (CT)
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