Bulldogs Come Back to Defeat KWU in 13 Innings

Photo by Micah Gilbert
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College baseball team hosted the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes at Bulldog Park on Thursday morning for a KCAC conference double header. The three game series opened on Wednesday afternoon with a single nine inning game, which the Bulldogs won 9-3.

The two teams regrouped and met again at 11:00 am for what was supposed to be a double header starting with a 9 inning game followed by a 7 inning game to wrap up the series. Game 1 Thursday ended up going into extra innings and lasted over four and a half hours. With no lights out at Bulldog Park, there was concern that if they started the second game, it wouldn't finish before they ran out of daylight, so the decision was made to postpone game three until a later date.

For the opening game on Thursday, the Bulldogs used seven different pitchers in the 13 inning affair. Dylan Marble (Jr. Danville, Ill.), got the start and worked the first four and a third innings. He was credited with four runs on eight hits, with a pair of strikeouts and one walk. He was lifted with one out in the bottom of the fifth with runners at the corners.  The Bulldog coaches elected to bring in Brett Carter (Jr. Sachse, Texas), who worked the next inning and two-thirds allowing one run, on one hit with one walk and one strikeout.

Tyler Norris (R-Fr. Arvada, Colo.) replaced Carter at the start of the seventh inning. His first pitch hit the Coyote batter, and his day was done. That hitter would come around to score later in the inning, so Norris was credited with an earned run. Blake Slaymaker (Jr. Johnstown, Colo.), was next on the bump for the Bulldogs. He worked the seventh inning, giving up three runs on three hits, with one strikeout and one walk. In the eighth inning, the Bulldogs sent Jake Herman (So. San Diego, Calif.), to the mound. He held the Yotes hitless and scoreless, facing just four hitters in one inning of work.

The next four innings belonged to Jarrod Manick (Jr. Aldergrove, B.C.). Manick is generally used as the Bulldog closer. He came in with the game tied in the ninth inning, but when the offense failed to regain the lead, Manick returned to the mound in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth innings. He ended up pitching four scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and recording eight strikeouts. The Bulldog offense eventually retook the lead in the top of the thirteenth, and when that lead held up, Manick was credited with the win. The final pitcher of the afternoon was Mairion Brunken (Jr. Willemstad, Curacao). Brunken came on in relief of Manick with a three run lead in the bottom of the thirteenth. He faced only four hitters. He struck out the first hitter of the inning looking, the second reached on an error, the third struck out swinging, and the fourth lined out to end the game, earning Brunken his second save of the season.

Offensively, the Bulldogs scored 12 runs on 16 hits. Four of the 16 hits went for extra bases, all of them of the two base variety. Eight different Bulldogs recorded hits, and six of those eight recorded multiple hits, led by Mark Strebin (Sr. Westville, Ill.), who was the hero in Wednesday's game with a grand slam. In Thursday's game Strebin went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs scored, and four RBI. Also recording three hits was Brevin Baessler (Sr. Gilbert, Ariz.), who was 3 for 5 with a pair of runs scored. Joining the hit parade were Jakob Shields (Jr. DeSoto, Kan.), Kristopher Perez (Jr. Miramar, Fla.), Dominick Ramos (Sr. Fresno, Calif.) and Jackson Goodmiller (Sr. St. George, Kan.), who were all 2 for 6 on the afternoon.

The Bulldogs were held scoreless through the first three innings, while the Yotes took a 3-0 lead. McPherson finally broke through with two runs in the fifth, but KWU added another run in the bottom of the inning to lead 4-2. The Bulldogs added another run in the sixth, but the Yotes kept pace and added a run of their own in their next at bat. Things got exciting in the seventh when the Bulldogs took the lead for the first time by putting up a four spot on the scoreboard, to lead 7-5. Once again Wesleyan matched the Bulldogs and they retook the lead with four runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Both teams went scoreless in the eighth and the Bulldogs went into the ninth needing two runs to stay alive. They did just that, and when Manick kept the Coyotes off the scoreboard in the bottom half of the inning, the game went to extra innings. After three more scoreless innings, the Bulldogs finally broke the tie with three runs in the thirteenth to lead 12-9, and that would turn out being the final margin of victory.

Bulldog head coach, Bryan Moses, succinctly summed up the win saying, "Great Series win for the DOGS.  Can't say enough about bullpen and the way we fought.  We are excited to welcome in Oklahoma Wesleyan next weekend."
 
Thursday's win was the Bulldogs' fourth in a row, and they now sit at 7-3 overall, and 2-0 in the KCAC. As Coach Moses eluded to, the Bulldogs will host the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles, the KCAC's top team from a year ago, next weekend at Bulldog Park. The three game series with the Eagles begins next Friday with a single nine inning game starting at 2:00 pm.