McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College baseball team smashed seven home runs and had 14 extra-base hits in game one and received a solid pitching performance in game two to record a sweep in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) doubleheader against Ottawa University Sunday at Light Capital Diamond.
McPherson 24, Ottawa 11
A strong south wind blowing out to left field led to a total of 11 home runs and seven doubles being hit in the opener.
Ottawa centerfielder Alexis Cruz provided the first strike with a solo home run in the first inning.
McPherson (8-15, 1-3 KCAC) responded with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning. Eleven Bulldogs came to the plate led by
Lane Fleming (Council Grove, Kan., Council Grove HS) with a two-run home run and
Trent Smith (Wellsville, Kan., Wellsville HS) with a two-run single. Starting pitcher
Dylan Klava (Douglas, Wyo., Colby CC) helped his own cause with a pair of doubles in the frame.
Dylan Fontenot (Lafayette, La., Carencro HS) smashed a solo home run to extend the Bulldog lead to 8-1 after two innings, but Ottawa responded with a pair of solo home runs in the third. McPherson matched the effort in the bottom half of the inning as
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) led off with a double, then scored on a two-run home run by
Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS).
Fontenot scored on a fielder's choice in the fourth to make it an 11-3 game, but Cruz klouted his third big fly of the game - this one a two-run shot - in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to six.
McPherson scored six runs in the fifth inning but only one was earned after an Ottawa error. The big hit of the inning came when
Bryce Strecker (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) sent a 2-0 pitch over the left-field fence for a grand slam.
The Bulldogs added seven runs in the sixth, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Klava and Haycock. The Haycock homer went over the right-field fence, an aberration considering the stiff south wind.
Desmond Grayson (Olathe, Kan., Olathe North HS) added a pinch-hit three-run homer later in the inning.
The Braves (19-7, 2-2 KCAC) rallied for six runs in the seventh inning, but could not cut the deficit enough to extend the contest.
Cruz was a perfect 4-for-4 with three home runs, five RBIs and four runs scored, while catcher Michael Hayworth was 3-for-4 with a solo shot and a two-run single.
Strecker finished with a career-high six RBIs, while Fleming had four hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. Haycock finished with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Klava had three hits - a home run and two doubles - to go with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS) added three hits, while courtesy runner
Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS) scored three times. Fontenot finished a triple shy of a cycle with two RBIs and five runs scored.
Ottawa used four pitchers in the contest with starter David Mead taking the loss.
Klava took the win on the mound, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five in six innings of work.
McPherson 7, Ottawa 3
Matthew Green (Torrance, Calif., Brethren Christian HS) got the start in game two and pitched effectively in a complete-game effort, allowing three runs (two earned) while scattering five hits and a walk and striking out eight over seven innings to get the win.
The Bulldogs had an early chance snuffed out in the second inning when Goodmiller popped to the mound for the third out with runners in scoring position.
The Braves grabbed the lead in the third inning as Eli Keppler led off the frame with a single through the hole at short then scored when Randy Perez hit a two-run shot to left on one of Green's few poor pitches of the day.
McPherson halved the lead in the bottom half of the inning when Smith scored on a Fleming RBI single to left.
After Green struck out the side in the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs got back to work with the bats. McPherson sent 11 batters to the plate in the home half, scoring six runs on seven hits and an error with the big knock coming on a two-run single by Willow. Fontenot led off with a double down the left-field line, then reaching on an infield single to third later in the inning.
Ottawa posted one more run in the fifth when Trevor McClanahan scored on a Cruz fielder's choice, but could get no closer.
McClanahan had two of the Braves' five hits in the contests, while Cruz and Keppler added singles in addition to Perez's home run. Chris Rodriguez also reached base twice, drawing a walk and getting hit by a pitch.
Ottawa starter Spencer Redmond lasted 3 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits and five walks, and took the loss. Nathan Roth threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.
Fontenot finished with two hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Smith also had two hits, an RBI and scored twice.
Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS) had a single, walked twice and stole a base.
The teams complete the three-game series Monday afternoon with a nine-inning game beginning at 1 p.m.
