Baseball Locks Up Spot In KCAC Tournament With Win at Bethany

LINDSBORG, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College baseball team clinched the sixth and final spot in the upcoming Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Tournament with an emphatic 20-2 win over rival Bethany College in the first game of a doubleheader Friday at Andersen Field.

The Bulldogs (24-28, 12-14 KCAC) - using primarily reserves and role players - dropped game two by a 14-1 score.

Game 1 -- McPherson 20, Bethany 2
McPherson pounded out 24 hits and scored 12 runs over the final two innings, including nine in the ninth, to grab the win.

The Bulldogs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first when Dylan Klava (Douglas, Wyo., Colby CC) scored on an Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS) sacrifice fly. 

The Swedes knotted the score in the bottom half of the frame as Taylor Nielson plated Daniel Blanco-Perez with an RBI single to shallow left.

After a scoreless second inning, McPherson two runs each in the third, fourth and fifth innings to build a 7-1 lead. Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS) hit a two-run triple in the third. In the fourth, Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS) scored on a Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) sacrifice fly and Klava scored on a Desmond Grayson (Olathe, Kan., Olathe North HS) single to shallow center. Goodmiller added an RBI single in the sixth, while John Feaster (Gastonia, N.C., Junction City HS) also scored on a Dylan Fontenot (Lafayette, La., Carencro HS) sac fly.

Neither team scored in the sixth, but the Bulldogs plated one in the seventh as Fontenot doubled in Lane Fleming (Council Grove, Kan., Council Grove HS) after the latter led off the inning with a double to deep left-center. Three more runs came across in the eight as Haycock hit a two-run single, then scored on a triple by Willow.

Cameron Oram (Cody, Wyo., Cody HS) allowed a solo home run to Robert Eakin in the bottom of the eighth, but  it was not enough as McPherson exploded for nine runs on seven hits. The inning was keyed by a two-run single by Fleming and a three-run homer from Willow before Grayson provided the capper with a two-out grand slam.

Matthew Green (Torrance, Calif., Brethren Christian HS) allowed one hit and struck out three in a four-out ninth inning but the Swedes could not push a run across.

Willow finished a double shy of a cycle and drove in five to lead McPherson. Grayson also had three hits, five RBIs and a pair of runs scored, while Haycock had four hits and four RBIs. Fleming, Fontenot and Goodmiller also drove in multiple runners, while Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS) and Klava each scored three times.

The Bulldogs used four pitchers in the contest with starter Soren Yarnall (Tustin, Calif., Santa Ana College) grabbing the win after allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five in six innings. Jarrod Manick (Aldergrove, B.C., Canada, Yale Secondary School), Oram and Green pitched one inning each down the stretch.

Nielson had two of Bethany's six hits in the opener.

Swedes starter James Yandell took the loss.

Game 2 -- Bethany 14, McPherson 1
With the berth in the KCAC Tournament sewn up, McPherson head coach Bryan Moses chose to rest many of his usual starters in the second game of the doubleheader. The Swedes took advantage, scoring four runs in each of the first three innings to build a 12-1 lead. Bethany later added two runs in the fifth to set the final margin.

The Bulldogs were limited to just one run on two hits off Bethany starter Yoberth Marchan, who finished with 15 strikeouts and two walks. Bryce Strecker (Hutchinson, Kan., Trinity Catholic HS) led off the second inning with a triple to deep right-center, then scored when Brett Carter (Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS) reached base on a bobble by Christian Correa. Dylan Fontenot later added a single in the third inning.

Starter Logan Worswick (Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS) was stuck with the loss after being tagged for eight runs in 1 2/3 innings.

"We have accomplished some remarkable feats this season as a program," remarked Moses. "It is important to remember that we were picked to finish in last place this season and now we are in a playoff spot while competing within one of the best NAIA conferences in the country. Our DOGS have fought through a lot of adversity and it's nice to see that work ethic pay off. The players understand that our culture has lead us to this point. When the team is together, they feel as if they are part of something special. Really proud to lay another brick today."

The final game of the series is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday at Lindsborg, weather permitting. Should that game not be played, the Bulldogs would open KCAC Tournament play on Wednesday, May 3, in Great Bend, Kansas, against an opponent to be determined.