McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- McPherson College and Kansas Wesleyan University combined for 15 home runs en route to a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) baseball doubleheader split Sunday at Light Capital Diamond. The Bulldogs (17-23, 8-10 KCAC) won game one, 11-8, while the Coyotes (22-20, 5-12 KCAC) posted an 11-4 win in game two.
Game 1 --- McPherson 11, Kansas Wesleyan 8
Kansas Wesleyan grabbed an early 1-0 lead as Joseph Hernandez-Eto sent the fourth pitch of the game over the left-field fence for a solo home.
The Coyote lead would hold until the third inning when
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) reached on a leadoff single through the hole at shortstop. He scored two batters later when
Dylan Klava (Douglas, Wyo., Colby CC) singled to roughly the same spot. Klava stole second, then moved to third when
Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS) reached on a dropped-third-strike wild pitch, but both were eventually stranded after a strikeout and an infield pop-out.
The Bulldogs took the lead with three runs in the fourth as
Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS) hit a two-run single then scored after stealing second and taking advantage of a pair of KWU throwing errors on the same play.
The lead grew to 7-1 as McPherson tallied three more runs in the fifth.
Lane Fleming (Council Grove, Kan., Council Grove HS) and
Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS) each hit solo homers and
Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS) scored on an RBI single to right by Goodmiller.
Kansas Wesleyan cut into the Bulldogs' advantage with a pair of runs in the sixth as Peyton Deiters hit a two-run blast to center that also scored Hernandez-Eto.
Following a scoreless seventh, McPherson starter
Soren Yarnall (Tustin, Calif., Santa Ana College) saw his day come to a close after Hernandez-Eto took the first pitch of the eighth over the left-field fence and Mark Segat followed with a first-pitch single to right.
Brett Carter (Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS) entered in relief and was greeted similarly as Deiters sent Carter's first offering out of the ballpark for another two-run homer. Following a walk and a sacrifice bunt,
Blake Ware (Overland Park, Kan., Allen County CC) was called upon to try and stop the Coyote rally. He was initially unsuccessful as the first batter he faced -- Michael Price -- joined the long-ball bonanza with a two-run shot of his own to put KWU up 8-7. Ware quickly settled down, though, and got out of the inning with a pair of line-outs.
McPherson rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Goodmiller led off with a single deep in the hole at short, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and a deep fly-out to center before scoring on a Haycock RBI single to tie the game. Fleming drew a walk to put two runners and a passed ball moved both into scoring position before
Dylan Fontenot (Lafayette, La., Carencro HS) clouted a three-run homer off KWU reliever Ryan Cantrell to give the Bulldogs an 11-8 lead. Cantrell was relieved by Samuel Sutton, who gave up a two-out double to Willow before striking Martin out to end the inning.
Klava was called upon to come in and try and slam the door shut on the Coyotes in the ninth, but the visitors from Salina would not go away quietly. Nick Elliott led off the inning with a single, then moved to second when Hernandez-Eto drew a walk. That brought up Mark Segat representing the game-tying run. After fouling off a couple of pitches, Segat drilled a liner toward the mound. Klava made the grab and threw to Fontenot at second to initiate what appeared to be a 1-6-3 game-ending triple play, but it was ruled that Hernandez-Eto had beaten the ball back to first base.
Due to Hernandez-Eto's quick return, Segat narrowly avoided the dubious distinction of having lined into a triple play twice against the Bulldogs. He had previously lined into a triple play in a game against McPherson on April 9, 2016 in Salina.
Klava ended the game one batter later, striking Deiters out on five pitches.
Willow and Goodmiller each had a team-high three hits for McPherson, while Klava, Fleming, Martin and Shields finished with two apiece.
Yarnall went seven innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out five, but did not factor into the decision. Ware picked up the win after getting the Bulldogs out of the eighth inning, while Klava struck out one in a scoreless ninth for the save.
Cantrell took the loss for the Coyotes.
Hernandez-Eto and Deiters provided the big bats for KWU, finishing with three hits apiece. Deiters drove in four and scored twice, while Hernandez-Eto and Price both had two RBIs.
"Our bats picked up our bullpen in the first game in a big way," said head coach
Bryan Moses. "We've been in situations this year where we've given up leads late and haven't gotten them back. To do that in game one was a big step for us and another sign of resilience by our 'Dogs. I think that was the biggest positive sign today. [We] weren't in unfamiliar territory in giving up a lead, but we just stayed strong and got it back."
Game 2 --- Kansas Wesleyan 11, McPherson 4
Klava and Hernandez-Eto got the starts for their respective teams in game two, with both having some early difficulty.
Martin, starting in place of Klava in center field, made a spectacular grab on a ball at the center-field fence off the bat of Hernandez-Eto to open the game but could not repeat the effort one batter later as Segat rapped a double to the same spot that sailed just over Martin's outstretched glove. The narrow miss would prove costly minutes later as Deiters hit another two-run home run - his third of the day - over the fence in center to put the Coyotes up 2-0.
McPherson responded with a run in the first on a Klava leadoff home run and another in the second as pinch-runner Tristan Hawkinson scored from first on a Goodmiller double to deep right-center.
A three-run homer by Lincoln Rivera in the third broke the tie and started a stretch of eight unanswered runs for the Coyotes. Segat led off the fifth with a solo homer and Rex Campbell scored on an Andrew Ramones RBI double later in the same frame. Hernandez-Eto launched a solo shot of his own to go with a pair of sacrifice flies in the sixth to make it 10-1 KWU.
The Bulldogs were not without their chances, stranding two in the third and leaving the bases loaded in the fourth before finally breaking through with a pair of runs in the sixth. Shields reached on a two-out walk, then scored when Klava hit a first-pitch homer to center.
The Coyotes added a Ramones homer, but left the bases loaded in the seventh. McPherson responded in its final at-bat with pinch-hitters Ethan Lanz and Bryce Strecker reaching on a walk and a single to right, respectively, but KWU reliever Kyle Robinson struck out the next three batters to end the game.
Hernandez-Eto (4-0) picked up the win for Kansas Wesleyan, scattering four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out seven in six innings. Robinson struck out three in a scoreless seventh.
"[Hernandez-Eto] is a guy they haven't started a lot this year," Moses remarked. "He came out and threw hard and really didn't tire too much. He had a fastball-slider combination and was really locating his fastball with good velocity. I wouldn't be surprised if [Kansas Wesleyan] started him more."
Segat went 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored to lead the Coyotes. Rivera chipped in with four RBIs, while Deiters and Ramones had two apiece.
Klava (4-6) was hung with the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings. Four relievers combined to throw the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits.
Klava was also the only Bulldog with multiple hits in game two, finishing 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored.
"I think [Klava] is one of the most valuable players in the conference," said Moses. "The fact that he plays every inning defensively, then starts one of the games on the weekend is very difficult to do - especially when he's asked to start the third game after being on his legs all weekend. He's our leader offensively at the top and we count on him to keep guys off balance when he pitches. [Light Capital Diamond] was a tough place to pitch today if you are a fly-ball pitcher and I think it bit us a little bit."
The Bulldogs step out of KCAC play Tuesday with a doubleheader at Bacone College. First pitch from Muskogee, Oklahoma, is slated for 2 p.m.
