Baseball | 4/7/2013 12:05:00 AM
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McPherson, Kan. – After a rough game one against the Ottawa University Braves, Bulldog Baseball won three-straight to improve to 12-22 for the year and 6-10 in the KCAC; Mac has won six of their last eight conference games and is currently ranked fifth.
Game 1 – vs. Ottawa University – L 11-6
MC got off to a strong start as
Brendan Miller (Taber, Alberta, Canada) hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning of the opening contest of the series. Ottawa put up one in the second and Mac answered as Miller crossed home plate on an
Andrew Pina (Wichita, Kan.) single in the third.
Things were looking solid for Bulldog baseball until a seven-run fourth inning was posted by the Braves; they added one more in each inning for the rest of the game. McPherson scored three in the bottom of the seventh but it was too little, too late as Ottawa took the contest 11-6. Zach Wilson scored via a Miller single; three batters later, Miller came home again, this time on a
Josh Grant (Paris, Texas) sacrifice fly.
Taylor Werts (Mansfield, Texas) was the final ‘Dog to cross the plate.
Miller led the team in hits, going 3-of-3 and earning a walk on his other at bat; he also scored three times while hitting in three himself. Werts logged two of the team’s nine hits; four others garnered one.
12 total hits were tallied by OU in route to their win. Kyle Pener recorded a team-high three and also had three RBI. Two players had two positive knocks of the ball while five other Braves logged one.
Scott Hughes (Albuquerque, N.M.) started at the mound for MC and pitched three and two-thirds innings before coming out; he surrendered eight runs on eight hits while walking four of the 21 batters he faced.
Colter Streck (Woodland Park, Colo.) entered in the top of the fourth and pitched for two and a third innings; he gave up two runs, one that was earned, in the 10 Braves he took on.
Jalen Davenport (Miliken, Colo.) pitched the final inning for Mac, throwing to five batters; he allowed two hits and one earned run.
Game 2 – vs. Ottawa University – W 3-1
The second game of the doubleheader was a much lower scoring game with half of the runs coming in the first inning. Miller started the scoring again for MC as he homered in
Jose Nossa (Valencia, Venezuela) to put the ‘Dogs ahead 2-0. Miller scored himself in the bottom of the third on a Werts single, giving Mac the 3-0 lead.
Ottawa brought in their sole run in the top of the fourth and were only able to record one hit for the rest of the contest giving McPherson the 3-1 triumph.
Six hits were tabulated by MC and Miller took two of them; he also made it on once via a walk, giving him a perfect 1.000 on base percentage for the day. Four other ‘Dogs grabbed a hit in the win.
Five different OU players had a hit in the one-run outing. Penner tallied the team’s lone RBI as he hit in Dustin Balmer.
Nolan Huelsmann (Goddard, Kan.) got the win for McPherson, pitching five innings; he struck out five of the 21 batters he faced while walking just one. Werts entered the game from right field and earned the save for the Bulldogs; he pitched to six batters and sent all six of them back to the dugout, five with strikeouts.
Game 3 – at Ottawa University – W 19-1
After a run-less first inning, MC scored in five of the next six innings. Five of those runs came in the second inning with Grant being the first ‘Dog to cross the plate, he did so on a
Keegan Bednasek (Topeka, Kan.) single.
Marcus Wilson (Wichita, Kan.) came in for
Bennett Ratzloff (Shawnee, Kan.) after the catcher got on via a single to left and scored along with Bednasek on a Nossa double. Miller’s second at bat of the day was a double to center that scored
Dorian Shelton (Kansas City, Mo.) and Nossa, putting McPherson on top 5-0.
The third was another big inning for Mac as they put up three more. Grant was again the first MC player to score after Bednasek singled to left. Wilson, again pinch running for Ratzloff, again came across with Bednasek on a Nossa knock of the ball.
With an 8-0 lead, McPherson took the fourth inning off before putting up six in the fifth. Shelton scored on a Zach Wilson single and two batters later, Nossa came across after Werts poked it to left; Wilson scored himself thanks to Grant. Miller came back to the dugout after Ratzloff was hit by a pitch and pushed the runners on the loaded bases around. Werts and Grant scored on the next hit as Bednasek singled to right. A 14-0 advantage was Mac’s after five.
The sixth inning started with two outs but then Miller made it aboard via an error and then was sent home on a Werts double to right field. MC wasn’t done scoring as they put up four more in the seventh after pinch hitting nearly every batter.
Collin Magnuson (Fort Collins, Colo.) was the first relief player to make it in and was shortly followed by
Ty Baker (Peyton, Colo.) as they both came across on a
Josh Locke (Sedwick, Kan.) double.
Shon Pinard (Sedan, Kan.) made his way home after
Seth Sterling (McPherson, Kan.) knocked one into left. Werts singled to center to send in Locke putting McPherson up 18-0.
The shutout was ended in the bottom of the seventh as OU found a way to score one, making the final 19-1 in favor of the visiting McPherson College Bulldogs.
The team’s 19 runs were scored on 19 hits and 12 walks. Nossa got going from the plate, hitting the ball four out of his five times up with a double; he also had a team-high three RBI. Werts also had three RBI and was second on the team in hits, along with Bednasek, with three. Miller was 2-of-3 for the game with two walks as well. Seven other Mac players logged a hit in the lopsided victory.
Ottawa had a rough time from behind the plate as just four hits were totaled by the Braves.
Werts had a near shutout and perfect game; he allowed the one run and had just one walk and four hits in his seven innings. Five strikeouts were logged in the 26 batters he faced.
Game 4 – at Ottawa University – W 6-5
The Braves tripled their run total from the previous game in the first two innings of the final contest of the series, jumping up 3-0 after two. McPherson wasn’t about to split the series and scored two on a Miller homerun to tie things after three.
The ‘Dogs put up another in the top of the fourth as Baker scored on a Bednasek single. OU jumped back up in the bottom half of the inning 4-3. Two more were thrown up on the board for MC in the fifth as Nossa scored after Werts earned a walk; Z. Wilson also made it home on an error by the Braves to give Mac a 6-4 advantage after five.
The sixth went relatively quick for both squads as only eight batters made it to the plate. The final inning of the contest was much more entertaining as Z. Wilson homered on the first pitch to increase MC’s lead to two. Ottawa put their first two batters on in the seventh and scored one on a squeeze play but a fly out and groundout ended their chances and gave McPherson the 6-5 win.
Mac again hit double-digits for hits as they logged 10 with Nossa staying hot and going 3-of-4 with another double. Miller went 2-of-3 and also drew a walk to put him second on the team from the plate. Five other ‘Dogs had one hit in their team’s victory.
Nine total hits were recorded by OU; they were led by Balmer and Quinn who each had two. Five different players earned an RBI for the Braves.
Tyler Watie (Ulysses, Kan.) received the win for the McPherson pitching staff after he went four innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits; he struck out two of the 17 batters he faced.
Brant Rhoades (Burlington, Colo) finished things off for Mac, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out three.
McPherson is scheduled to play Mid-America Christian University on Tuesday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m. (CT) if the weather permits.
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