McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- McPherson College slipped to 17-9 overall and 4-7 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) after falling in both halves of a league doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Alumni Park.
The Braves took game one, 10-0, in eight innings, then won game two by a 10-5 score.
Game 1 --- Ottawa 10, McPherson 0 (8 innings)
Early on, the series opener proved to be a pitcher's duel between McPherson's
Matthew Green (Torrance, Calif., Brethren Christian HS) and Ottawa's David Mead.
Through seven innings, Green scattered three runs on six hits and a pair of walks, while Mead had not allowed a run on four hits and a pair of walks.
Trailing 3-0 after the Braves posted one run in the second and two more in the fourth,
Lane Fleming (Council Grove, Kan., Council Grove HS) and
Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS) reached on back-to-back two-out singles in the top half of the eighth inning. The pair were stranded, however, when
Dominick Ramos (Fresno, Calif., Hartnell College) popped out to second base to end the inning.
The tide turned in Ottawa's favor in the bottom half of the frame. Green issued a leadoff walk to Tyler Quintana on four straight pitches, then saw his day ended when Willies Estrada smacked a double to deep right-center that scored pinch runner Reece Skiles.
Treyton DeVore (Inman, Kan., Inman HS) came on in relief of Green but did not fare much better, conceding four hits, a walk and a hit batsman as the Braves plated seven in the inning. The final blow came on a two-run single by Trevor McClanahan that put Ottawa up 10-0 and ended the game via run rule.
Other than the eighth inning, the only frame where McPherson had more than one baserunner was the second where
Brevin Baessler (Tempe, Ariz., Western Nebraska CC) and
Dylan Fontenot (Carencro, La., Carencro HS) also posted consecutive two-out singles only to be stranded.
Green's final line left him responsible for five runs in total (four earned) on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
Willow finished with two hits and drew a walk to lead the Bulldogs offensively.
Mead allowed six hits and two walks while striking out eight to get the win for the Braves.
McClanahan finished with three hits and two RBIs, while Sheldon Paramore added two hits and two RBIs.
Game 2 --- Ottawa 10, McPherson 5
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead with four runs on three hits off Braves game two starter Matt Haake.
Dylan Fontenot (Carencro, La., Carencro HS) drew a walk to open the game. Baessler and Fleming followed with back-to-back doubles to give McPherson a 2-0 lead. Fontenot followed with an RBI single to score
Joe Kraus (Westminster, Colo., Barstow CC), then pinch-runner
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) came in on a throwing error by Ottawa catcher Willies Estrada.
The Braves responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a two-out two-run triple by Cole Boardman.
McPherson missed a chance to add to its lead in the third inning as the Bulldogs had runners on the corners with just one out but could not push a run across.
That left the door open for Ottawa, which rallied for a pair of runs to tie the game. Quintana scored on an Estrada RBI single and Hecmart Nieves came home when Boardman reached on a fielder's choice.
A solo homer to left by
Mark Strebin (Westville, Ill., Danville Area CC) to lead off the fourth gave McPherson the lead back. The Bulldogs followed with
Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS) drawing a walk and Smith reaching on a bunt single. Haake struck out Baessler for the first out of the inning but that ended his day. Logan Wheelan came in and got the final two outs of the frame.
Wheelan kept McPherson off the basepaths for the most part over the final three innings, allowing just one hit and walking two, while the Ottawa offense retook the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, then added two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings.
Wheelan grabbed the win, while McPherson starter
Brett Carter (Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS) took the loss. Carter allowed six runs on nine hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings.
McClanahan, Neives and Estrada all had three hits for Ottawa, while Boardman had two hits and drove in three.
Fleming had two doubles and two RBIs to lead McPherson offensively, while Fontenot and Strebin both had two hits and an RBI.
The teams complete the weekend series with a single nine-inning game Sunday at 1 p.m.
