McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Junior catcher
Dominick Ramos (Fresno, Calif., Hartnell College) had five hits and hit for the cycle to lead the McPherson College baseball team to a 13-9 win over Sterling College Friday afternoon to open the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) weekend series between the two schools.
The Warriors (8-13, 5-5 KCAC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead after their first at-bats. Hunter Green hit a 2-run home run to right, while two more runs scored aided by miscues in the field by the Bulldogs.
Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS) hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first to get McPherson (19-10, 5-8 KCAC) on the board.
The Bulldogs added four runs in the second and three on the third to take an 8-2 lead.
Brevin Baessler (Tempe, Ariz., Western Nebraska CC) led off the second with a double to deep center, then scored on a Ramos triple.
Dylan Fontenot (Carencro, La., Carencro HS) followed with a two-run homer.
Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS) reached on a single to shallow center, then scored on a double by
Mark Strebin (Westville, Ill., Danville Area CC).
In the third, Ramos clubbed a two-run homer to left and Strebin added another RBI double.
Sterling tallied single runs in the fourth and fifth to cut the McPherson advantage to 8-6, then tied the game at 8-8 in the seventh inning on a two-run double off the bat of Ryan Sedillo.
McPherson rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the seventh. Running for Ramos, who reached on a one-out single,
Trent Smith (Wellsville, Kan., Wellsville HS) scored on a Strebin RBI single. Haycock followed with a two-run single later in the inning.
Both teams added one run in the eighth inning. The Warriors' run came as AJ Romer scored on a Green double to the wall in center, while Baessler countered with a solo home run for the Bulldogs.
Jarrod Manick (Aldergrove, B.C., Canada, Yale Secondary School) struck out the side in the ninth, working around a two-out walk, to close out the game and pick up the five-out save.
Sterling reliever Ulysses Ramos took the loss despite allowing just one run on three hits and striking out nine in four innings.
Green had three hits - two doubles and a home run - and drove in three to lead the Warriors. Romer and Sedillo each had two doubles.
McPherson starter
Chad Gotto (Fresno, Calif., West Hills CC) settled in after giving up the four early runs, allowing six runs overall on eight hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings and did not factor into the decision. Four relievers combined to throw the final 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks.
Tyler Dunn (Lawton, Okla., Eisenhower HS) was credited with the win after being charged with one run on one hit in 2/3 of an inning.
"I thought our staff reacted fantastically today," said pitching coach
Kasey Guinty. "After a rocky start, Gotto was able to really settle in and cruise - at least for a couple of innings - and that was huge in these wind conditions. Our bullpen did an excellent job of coming in, shutting the door, and limiting the damage with runners on base. We really limited the hits in those situations after some potentially costly walks. It was fantastic to see and, hopefully, that provides the momentum we need to roll into Saturday.
Ten of the Bulldogs' 18 hits went for extra bases with five doubles, a triple and four home runs.
Ramos was 5-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. He also threw out two runners on the base-paths. Strebin added four hits, including three doubles, and drove in three, while Haycock also had four hits, including a home run. Baessler was the final McPherson player with multiple hits, posting a double and a home run.
"[Offensively,] we kinda turned things around Tuesday [at Central Christian] after coming off a tough series at Ottawa last weekend," said assistant coach
Kyle MacKinnon. "We know we have the ability to barrel baseballs and string a bunch of competitive at-bats together. We definitely showed that today and, hopefully, we can carry that forward into Saturday."
The teams close out the series with a doubleheader Saturday. First pitch for game one from Bulldog Park is slated for noon.
