McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College baseball team defeated Central Christian College, 13-1, in seven innings Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Park to complete a four-game sweep in the City Series.
The Bulldogs (28-19) hit four home runs and two triples while McPherson pitchers limited the Tigers (5-41) to just two hits.
After issuing four-pitch free passes to two of the first three batters he faced, Bulldog starter
Chad Gotto (Fresno, Calif., West Hills CC)Â settled down and got out of the inning.
McPherson struck for four runs in the bottom half of the frame as
Dylan Fontenot (Carencro, La., Carencro HS)Â scored on a
Lane Fleming (Council Grove, Kan., Council Grove HS) RBI single through the left side and
Brevin Baessler (Tempe, Ariz., Western Nebraska CC)Â hit a three-run home run to left-center.
"[Chad] didn't have the greatest stuff today, but he worked through his shortcomings," said head coach
Bryan Moses. "The big hit today was the Baessler home run. That one hit really settled Gotto down after not having a ton of command in the top half of the inning.
Jackson Goodmiller (St. George, Kan., Rock Creek HS)Â hit a leadoff triple in the second, then came home on a Bailey Jay wild pitch to extend the lead to 5-0.
Central Christian plated its lone run in the top of third. Chris Sanchez singled through the left side, then stole second before scoring when a fly ball of the bat of Chance Carney popped out of Goodmiller's glove in right field.
The Bulldogs countered with a
Mark Strebin (Westville, Ill., Danville Area CC) home run in the bottom of the third.
Justin Risdall (Colorado Springs, Colo., Vista Ridge HS)Â launched a one-out triple to deep left-center in the fourth, then came across on a
Trevor Haycock (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Sr. HS) single to right field.
McPherson exploded for six runs in the fifth inning on just four hits and a Tiger error. The first three Bulldog batters reached safely on a walk and a pair of singles - the second of which was an RBI single off the bat of Baessler. A fielder's choice and an error brought in pinch runner
Trent Smith (Wellsville, Kan., Wellsville HS) before Baessler scampered home on a wild pitch.
Reily Martin (Auburn, Kan., Hayden HS) followed with a two-run homer and Risdall concluded the scoring with a monster home run to the deepest part of the park in left-center.
Bailey Porter (Loveland, Colo., Thompson Valley HS) and
Tyler Dunn (Lawton, Okla., Eisenhower HS) combined to allow just one baserunner over the final two innings to end the game.
Gotto went five innings to pick up the win, allowing just two hits while walking four and striking out five.
Baessler had two hits, including a home run, with four RBIs and two runs scored to lead McPherson, while Risdall added a home run and a triple.Â
"[Risdall's] been very patient," noted Moses. "I have to give him a lot of credit for that. He's very versatile - he's strong and can play all over the infield. Today, he got in there and wasn't nervous. Risdall's been buried a bit behind some guys in the lineup, but he came in and played as if he's played all year."
Bailey Jay took the loss for the Tigers, allowing six runs on four hits and a walk in three innings.
Sanchez and Josh Clyden accounted for Central Christian's two hits, while Laramie Lumley drew a pair of walks.
The Bulldogs return to the diamond Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader against county rival Bethany College to begin a three-game Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) series. First pitch is slated for noon.
"We know we can hit. We've made that clear. We're never un-confident going into a weekend. We're confident going into the Bethany series, we feel good about hosting Senior Day, and I think the guys are excited to get back into conference play," added Moses. "Bethany will have very good starters...they've been in every game this year because they know how to pitch. They really do. We're a bit banged up, so we'll roll the ball out there and see how some of our young guys do.
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