BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College baseball team was limited to just three hits over 16 innings as No. 5 Oklahoma Wesleyan University swept a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) doubleheader Sunday evening at Doenges Memorial Stadium.
The Eagles took game one, 7-0, then grabbed the night cap by a 2-0 score.
Game 1 --- Oklahoma Wesleyan 7, McPherson 0
After coming up empty with the bases loaded in the second inning, Oklahoma Wesleyan grabbed the lead with a pair of runs in the third.
Austin Sojka was hit by a pitch to open the inning, then moved around to third on a Rodolfo Oleta walk and a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a wild pitch by McPherson starter
Luke Whitfield (Berthoud, Colo., Ball State University). Oleta followed when Whitfield was unable to cleanly handle the throw back to the plate by catcher
Dominick Ramos (Fresno, Calif., Hartnell College). The Eagles followed with a single and another hit batsman but were unable to push those runners across.
Sojka extended the lead to 3-0 with a solo home run in the fourth inning.
The Eagles added another run in the sixth when Chris Acosta-Tapia scored on a Tyson Cronin RBI single to center.
McPherson had runners on the corners with in both the fifth and seventh innings but could not cash in.
The missed opportunities would prove costly as OKWU tacked on three more runs in the eighth. Acosta-Tapia led off the inning with a solo home run, then Sojka and Colton Kelly scored on a two-run single by Juan De La Cruz.
McPherson had one final opportunity to avoid the shutout as pinch-hitter
Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS) drew a walk to open the ninth inning. He was subsequently erased on a double play before Ramos popped out to short to end the game.
Ryan Sandifer struck out 12 en route to the two-hit complete game shutout.
Whitfield took the loss after allowing four runs on three hits while striking out three in five innings.
Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS) hit a leadoff single in the sixth and
Brevin Baessler (Tempe, Ariz., Western Nebraska CC) added a pinch-hit single in the seventh to account for McPherson's two hits.
Kelly led the Eagles with two hits, while Acosta-Tapia drew a pair of walks in addition to his solo shot. Sojka accounted for three of OKWU's seven runs.
Game 2 --- Oklahoma Wesleyan 2, McPherson 0
Sojka blasted a pair of solo home runs - one in the first, the other in the third - to account for all of the offense in the night cap.
McPherson was limited to just one hit - an
Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS) single to open the second inning - and just five baserunners overall. Baessler was hit by the game's opening pitch but was erased on a double play.
Mark Strebin (Westville, Ill., Danville Area CC) and
Joe Kraus (Westminster, Colo., Barstow CC) drew walks to open the third and fourth innings, and Martin was hit by a pitch to open the fifth, but none progressed past second base.
The Eagles had a pair of opportunities to extend their lead. John Lantigua reached on a one-out single to center in the fourth, then stole second and third before being stranded. OKWU also had runners in scoring position in the fifth inning. Rylee Peterson led off the frame with a single to center and - after a sacrifice bunt - Sojka was intentionally walked. The pair then advanced on a Rodolfo Oleta groundout to McPherson starter
Matthew Green (Torrance, Calif., Brethren Christian HS) before Nick McGrew flew out to end the inning.
Green was hung with the hard-luck loss after scattering five hits - including both Sojka homers - and three walks while striking out seven in five innings.
Jarrod Manick (Aldergrove, B.C., Canada, Yale Secondary School) pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out one.
Kyle Fimbrez took the complete-game win, walking two and beaning two others while striking out seven.
The teams close out the three-game weekend series with a nine-inning game on Monday afternoon. First pitch from Doenges Memorial Stadium is slated for noon.
