Baseball | 4/12/2014 11:13:00 PM
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Box Score 4 McPherson, Kan. – Bulldog baseball took both games from Friends University Friday night, winning the first game by a score of 5-2 and game two 15-3. On Saturday, Mac would split with the Falcons to win the series 3-1; the 'Dogs lost game one 8-10 and won game two by a score of 11-10. McPherson is now 15-24 on the year and 10-10 in conference, putting them tied for fourth with two KCAC series to go.
Game 1 – vs. Friends University – W 5-2
Friends scored first in the top of the second bringing in both of their runs after a leadoff double and a pair of singles in the inning. Mac answered back in the bottom of the third with a 2-run homerun by Zach Wilson. Jordan Slaton would give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead in the fifth with a leadoff homerun. McPherson would pad their lead getting two more runs in the bottom of the sixth and finish the Falcons off with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
Slaton led the Bulldogs in hitting going 3-of-3 with the go-ahead homerun. Mac also had three players with one hit to round out the batting. Slaton (Dodge City, Kan.) tallied a team-high three RBI; Wilson (Miliken, Colo.) had the other two.
Taylor Werts (Mansfield, Texas) pitched an absolute gem, going all seven innings and only throwing 69 pitches; he gave up two earned runs on just five hits with no walks.
Game 2 – vs. Friends University – W 15-3
Friends wasted no time scoring in the top of the first, but were only able to get one run. Wilson tied the game up with a leadoff home run and the Bulldogs would add another run to take the lead 2-1 after the first. Friends tacked on another run in the top of the second and third to take a 3-2 advantage. Mac put two runs on the board in the bottom half of the second to make the lead 4-3 after three innings. The floodgates opened for the 'Dogs offense which scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth and the 'Dogs never looked back, cruising to a 15-3 victory, finishing off the Friday-night sweep.
Werts and Austin Russell (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) led the Bulldogs in hitting both having three; Russell also added four RBI, Wilson had three.
Scott Hughes (Albuquerque, N.M.) pitched the entire seven inning game, giving up three earned runs on nine hits and no walks.
Game 3 – at Friends University – L 10-8
After watching Friends jump out to an early lead in both games on Friday, Mac struck first in Wichita; the Bulldogs scored two runs in the top half of the first. The lead didn't last long as Friends tied things up at two in the bottom half of the opening inning. Tom Potter would give the 'Dogs back the lead with a two RBI double in the top of the third; Potter would also come around to score in the inning to make the lead 5-2. Mac extended the lead, adding three more runs in the top of the fourth. It wouldn't be enough however, as Friends would come storming back scoring eight runs in the next three innings to win the game 10-8.
Potter (Dayton, Minn.) led the Bulldogs' offense with three hits and three RBI's. Dorian Shelton (Kansas City, Mo.), Jose Nossa (Valencia, Venezuela) and Russell all added two hits of their own in the loss.
Nolan Huelsmann (Goddard, Kan.) started for Mac going four complete innings while giving up seven earned runs on eleven hits and no walks. Brant Rhoades (Burlington, Colo) pitched an inning and two-thirds in relief, allowing three runs, two earned, on two hits and no walks and earned the loss. Josh Grant (Paris, Texas)Grant pitched just a third of an inning giving up no runs off of one hit and no walks.
Game 4 – at Friends University – W 11-10
Mac again jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the opening inning and much like the first game on Saturday, Friends also tacked on two runs in the first inning. The Falcons kept things going getting four runs in the bottom of the second to make the game 6-2. By scoring two runs in the third and two in the fifth, the Bulldogs tied it up again. It looked like Mac was going to pull away with the game after a five run top half of the sixth gave them a 11-7 lead. However, Friends would score three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one run game before Mac slammed the door shut to take the game 11-10.
Wilson, Nossa and Werts led the Bulldog offense with three hits each. Nossa also had three Runs Batted In and Werts had three. Russell and Potter had two RBI each on three combined hits.
Colter Streck (Woodland Park, Colo.) started the game from the mound for the Bulldogs giving up three runs, two earned, on eight hits and one walk in an inning of work. Grant earned the win going six innings giving up seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks in relief.
Bulldog baseball has a single nine-inning game on Monday at NCAA D-II Newman University; the non-conference matchup is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. (CT)
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Stories written by MC student Caleb Hecker
