McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College baseball team wrapped up its Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) series with Southwestern College Sunday, falling 18-17 in the completion of Saturday's suspended game before posting a 9-5 victory in the day's regularly-scheduled game.
Southwestern 18, McPherson 17 (completion of suspended game)
Southwestern scored four runs each in the sixth and seventh innings to take an 18-12 lead.
McPherson had runners on the corners in the sixth but could not push a run across. Down to its final three outs, the Bulldogs mounted a furious rally in the seventh.
Lane Fleming (Council Grove, Kan., Council Grove HS) and
Evan Willow (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Lambrick Park HS) reached on one-out singles. Two batters later,
Brevin Baessler (Tempe, Ariz., Western Nebraska CC) drove in Fleming with an RBI single up the middle.
Dominick Ramos (Fresno, Calif., Hartnell College) and
Mark Strebin (Westville, Ill., Danville Area CC) followed with back-to-back home runs to draw McPherson within a run. Pinch-hitter
Joe Kraus (Westminster, Colo., Barstow CC) reached on an infield single to bring
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS) - the potential game-winning run - to the plate. Southwestern countered by bringing in Jorge Garcilazo. Goodmiller got a hold of Garcilazo's first pitch but it was corralled by Bryan Pacheco at the warning track in center field to end the game.
Prior to its suspension, McPherson led the middle game of the series by a 12-10 score.
After a scoreless first inning, the Bulldogs exploded for seven runs off seven hits in the bottom of the second inning. Willow and
Dylan Fontenot (Carencro, La., Carencro HS) reached on high popups that the Southwestern infielders were unable to properly judge due to the high winds. Both moved up on a wild pitch, then scored on a Ramos single through the left side. A single and a walk followed before Goodmiller rapped a double to deep left-center to score both Strebin and
Trent Smith (Wellsville, Kan., Wellsville HS).
Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS) came across on a
Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS) sacrifice fly and Fleming concluded the inning with a two-run homer to left.
The Moundbuilders responded with seven runs of their own in the fourth inning. A walk and two hit batsmen loaded the bases with two outs, only to be followed by another hit batter to plate in the first Southwestern run. The second run came across courtesy of a
Josh Lewis (Loveland, Colo., Thompson Valley HS) wild pitch. The third scored on a McPherson error that would have ended the inning. The frame continued, however, and Owen Breithaupt and Naotaka Fujiaeda produced run-scoring hits before Joe Rankin tied the game with a two-run single through the left side.
The scoring continued in the bottom half of the frame as the Bulldogs scratched out five runs. Goodmiller and Haycock led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Fleming then reached on an error to plate Goodmiller and Fontenot rapped a two-run triple to right-center before Baessler sent a first-pitch strike over the left-field fence for his third home run of the day.
Southwestern cut into the deficit with three runs in the fifth against McPherson reliever
Bailey Porter (Loveland, Colo., Thompson Valley HS). Sam Dannehl reached base on an error to open the frame and pinch-runner Jaevious Merriweather came around to score on a Pacheco groundout. Liam Whalen, who had reached on a walk, scored from third on a wild pitch and Fujiaeda followed with an RBI single to right.
The Bulldogs stranded a pair in the bottom half of the inning, at which point the coaches and umpires made the decision to suspend the game due to fading daylight.
Brandon Poche picked up the win on the mound, throwing the first 1 2/3 innings after the game resumed, while Garcilazo picked up the one-pitch save.
Brett Carter (Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS) - one of four pitchers used by the Bulldogs in the final two innings - took the loss.
McPherson finished with 20 hits led by four from Strebin. Goodmiller and Willow added three hits apiece, while Ramos had a team-high five RBIs. Fleming and Baessler drove in three runs each.
Dannehl and Tyler Givens had three hits apiece, while Pacheco drove in three. Bo McSpadden added a pinch-hit three-run double in the sixth inning.
McPherson 9, Southwestern 5
The Bulldogs came out swinging in the rubber game of the series, grabbing a 3-0 lead after one inning when Fleming hit a two-run home run to left and Willow followed with a solo shot to center.
McPherson had the opportunity to add to its lead in the second, third and fourth innings - leaving the bases loaded in each frame - but was only able to manage one run each in the third and fourth. Willow scored on a Baessler single through the left side in the third inning. The pair connected again in the fourth with Willow coming across when Baessler reached on an error.
"We didn't have enough timely hits in the third game," said head coach
Bryan Moses. "We left a lot of guys on base and had plenty of situations to open the game up and couldn't. It got tight in the latter third of the game. Our guys just need to relax in situations like that. I think a couple of guys pressed, trying to do too much in those pressure situations."
The Moundbuilders got on the board with a run in the top of the fifth, but the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 9-1 with two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings. Fleming and Willow opened the sixth with back-to-back singles with pinch-runner
Hunter Dreiling (Goddard, Kan., Eisenhower HS) scoring on a Baessler RBI single.
Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS) followed with a sacrifice squeeze bunt to score Willow.
In the seventh, Goodmiller drove in
Jakob Shields (DeSoto, Kan., DeSoto HS) with a single, then scored on a Ramos RBI single. McPherson had the opportunity to end the game via run rule with two on and one out, but the Bulldogs grounded into a pair of fielder's choices to end the inning.
Southwestern cut into the lead with three runs in the top of the eighth as Chris Cata hit a three-run double, then added another run in the ninth as Pacheco scored on a Fujiaeda RBI single.
Luke Whitfield (Berthoud, Colo., Ball State University) picked up the win on the mound, scattering four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out seven in 7 1/3 innings.
Tyler Dunn (Lawton, Okla., Eisenhower HS) threw the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits.
"Whitfield gave us, probably, our best-pitched game of the year," Moses noted. "Considering the conditions today, the amount of strikes he threw, and the ground balls he got, it was a really solid performance."
Willow went 3-for-3 with four runs scored, while Goodmiller and Fleming had two hits apiece. Baessler also had two hits and drove in three.
Although he finished without a hit, Moses also praised the play of Reily Martin. "Martin deserves a lot of credit in game three. He played such a great center field today and made a couple of spectacular plays in this wind - one on a diving play on a ball that was in front of him, and the other on a ball that was over his head. Then, he put down the perfect squeeze in the sixth."
Fujiaeda and Rankin had two hits, while Cata drove in three.
"We were nearly flawless offensively in games one and two," remarked Moses "It's amazing how many times we have had scoring opportunities. It's a credit to our team. We grind at-bats and get on however we can. I mean, we were down six runs with one out in the bottom of the ninth in game two and came a few feet from pulling out the win. If Goodmiller's ball is pulled to left instead of hit to dead-away center, we're talking about a series sweep."
McPherson (15-7, 4-5 KCAC) hosts Hastings College (4-8) Wednesday in a nonconference doubleheader at Bulldog Park. First pitch is slated for noon.
"We're going to get some guys some work [against Hastings]," Moses added. "It gives us a chance to explore some different options and throw some guys out their on the mound that have gotten buried. The weather looks to be a little calmer in terms of wind, so we're looking for to those games."
The Bulldogs travel to Ottawa University next weekend (March 10-11) for another weekend KCAC series.
"We're going to need some long outings from our starters," said Moses about the Ottawa series. "It's going to be battle with them, just like it was last year."
