MUSKOGEE, Okla. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College baseball team stepped out of Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play Tuesday and swept a nonconference doubleheader at Bacone College, 11-2 and 12-1.
McPherson improved to 19-23 overall, while Bacone fell to 4-37.
Game 1 --- McPherson 11, Bacone 2
The Bulldogs raced out to a 6-0 lead after three-and-a-half innings in the opener, then put the game out of reach with a five-run sixth inning.
McPherson plated two in the second as
Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS) led off the inning with a double to deep right-center field, then scored on a
Desmond Grayson (Olathe, Kan., Olathe North HS) RBI single. Grayson scored the second run later in the frame on an RBI single by
Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS).
Three runs were tacked on in the third.
Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS) hit a leadoff triple, then came across on a Willow RBI single.
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) followed with an RBI single to drive in
Dylan Fontenot (Lafayette, La., Carencro HS). Grayson followed with a sacrifice fly to score Willow.
Haycock extended the lead to 6-0 with a solo home run in the fourth inning, but the Warriors responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame as Blake Springer hit an RBI triple and Mitchell McAtee rapped a run-scoring single of Bulldog starter
Blake Ware (Overland Park, Kan., Allen County CC).
Bacone threatened for more in the fifth inning against McPherson reliever
Cameron Oram (Cody, Wyo., Cody HS) but ended up stranding a pair of runners without scoring.
The Bulldogs parlayed erratic Bacone pitching into five runs in the sixth off just one hit. After
Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS) flew out to lead off the inning, the Warriors walked three straight McPherson batters then hit Haycock to force in the first run of the frame.
Lane Fleming (Council Grove, Kan., Council Grove HS) followed with the only hit of the inning - a bases-clearing double. After a Fontenot strikeout, Fleming was lifted in favor of pinch-runner
John Feaster (Gastonia, N.C., Junction City HS), who came around to score on a pair of Dalton Martin passed balls.
McPherson got out of the sixth unscathed and both teams stranded a pair of runners in the seventh without a run crossing.
Haycock led the Bulldogs with two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Willow added two hits and two runs scored, while Fleming also drew a walk in addition to his three-run double.
Ware picked up the win on the mound, allowing just two runs on five hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out six. Oram threw two innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and two walks, while
Jeromy Denton (Mesa, Ariz., Colby CC) walked two in a scoreless seventh.
Bacone starter Tyler Jackson took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks in three innings.
The Warriors had six hits, led by two each by Emmanuel Mendez and McAtee.
Game 2 --- McPherson 12, Bacone 1
Three McPherson pitchers held Bacone to just two hits, while Fleming clouted his ninth home run of the year - a three-run shot in the second inning - to complete the sweep.
The Bulldogs struck early as Haycock scored in the top of the first on a Willow RBI single. Four more runs followed in the second as Bryce Strecker scored on a Haycock single before Fleming hit the first pitch he saw from Bacone reliever Cameron Ball over the right field fence to make it 5-0.
McPherson added six runs in the third keyed by RBI hits from Grayson and
Dylan Klava (Douglas, Wyo., Colby CC) and a two-run single by Haycock. The Bulldogs stranded three in the fourth but could not push a run across.
A throwing error in the top of the fifth allowed Martin to score McPherson's 12th run, but Bacone broke up the shutout bid with a run in the bottom half of the inning as Jimmy Smittle scored on a Dalton Martin single. The Warriors could only manage the single run and left the bases loaded.
The Bulldogs were retired in order in the sixth, but had runners at second and third with one out before Bacone got a groundout and a strikeout to get out of the frame.
Tate Jackson (Pomona, Kan., West Franklin HS) came on for McPherson and struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.
Logan Worswick (Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS) picked up the win, throwing 4 2/3 innings and allowing one run on one hit while striking out five.
Jarrod Manick (Aldergrove, B.C., Canada, Yale Secondary School) allowed just one hit and struck out one in 1 1/3 innings of relief before yielding to Jackson in the seventh.
Bacone starter Jalen Nakai took the loss, lasting just 1 2/3 innings after giving up three runs on one hit and four walks. Ball took the brunt of the punishment from the Bulldog bats, allowing eight runs (six earned) on four hits and three walks in just 1/3 of an inning.
Haycock ended game two 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. He was the only Bulldog with multiple hits. Fleming drove in three, while Klava and Strecker each scored a pair of runs.
Reserve Colby Huval and Martin accounted for Bacone's two hits.
McPherson returns to KCAC play this weekend with a three-game series at Sterling College. The teams will play a single 9-inning game at 3 p.m. Friday then complete the series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday.
