McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College baseball dropped to 6-3 overall with a 10-4 loss to crosstown rival Central Christian College Tuesday night at Light Capital Diamond.
The Bulldogs (6-3) struck first, scoring the opening run of the game in the top of the first when
Dylan Klava (Douglas, Wyo., Colby CC) drove in
Trent Smith (Wellsville, Kan., Wellsville HS) with single to shallow left field.
The Tigers (4-4) responded with four runs in both the first and second innings, posting seven hits and taking advantage of three McPherson errors. Four runs scored off the bat of Kenny Cordova - two off a single to center in the first and two off a deep fly to left that was misplayed by
Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS).
McPherson scored one in the fourth when
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) rapped a two-out RBI double down the right-field line, scoring
Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS).
The Bulldogs tallied two more runs in the seventh as
Bryce Strecker (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) scored on a fly-ball out by Smith and Martin crossed when Willow hit into a fielder's choice.
Central Christian responded by plating a pair in the bottom of the eighth. Nate Patterson and Mario Rivera reached on back-to-back one-out singles, moved into scoring position on a Caleb Gorman sacrifice bunt, then scored on successive pitches due to a wild pitch and a passed ball.
McPherson had a runner in scoring position with one out in the ninth, but a fly out and a ground out ended the game.
Keaton Snyder picked up the win for the Tigers, throwing seven inning, scattering seven hits and walking three while posting three strikeouts. Cameron Bonds pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out one.
Offensively, Rivera had three hits, while Gorman, Patterson and Hunter Wilcher had two each. Cordova had four RBIs.
Five McPherson pitchers combined to give up 10 runs on 11 hits and four walks while striking out just one. Starter
Jeromy Denton (Mesa, Ariz., Colby CC) took the loss, allowing six runs in one inning of work.
Zack McKay (Orange, Calif., Santa Ana College) threw three innings of one-hit baseball, allowing two runs and garnering the only strikeout.
Jesse Correll (Onaga, Kan., Rock Creek HS) threw two scoreless innings.
Klava was the only Bulldog with multiple hits, finishing with two. He also collected an RBI, as did Willow and Goodmiller.
"[Central Christian] jumped on us early," said head coach
Bryan Moses. "This is one of those time where you have to give the other team credit. They outplayed us today. Every out was loud. They barreled every baseball. They've certainly recruited well and they're an improved team."
The Bulldogs take to the road this weekend, playing a pair of doubleheaders at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas. First pitch is slated for noon on both Saturday and Sunday. The Rams are 5-2 heading into a Wednesday game with UT-Dallas.
