Photo by Micah Gilbert
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College baseball team move to 10-4 on the season, splitting with Dordt University in a double header on Friday out at Bulldog Park.
The Bulldogs got off to a slow start in the series opener, trailing the Defenders 4-1 after three and a half innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldog bats started to get hot. They scored a pair of runs in the fourth to trim the Defender lead to one, but then gave one back to the Defenders in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half of the fifth, the Bulldogs scored nine runs on eight hits to break the game open, taking a 12-5 lead, which would stand the rest of the way.Â
In game two, the Bulldogs got off to a horrible start. The Defender started hitting balls all over the par, plating seven runs in the top of the first inning, then following that up with six more runs in the top of the second. They added one more run in their half of the third before the Bulldogs finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third. The Bulldogs never really recovered after giving up 13 runs in the first two innings. In the end, the Defenders ran away with game two 20-6.
The winning pitcher in game one was
Garrett Connor (Sr. Highlands Ranch, Colo.), going five innings and allowing five runs on eight hits. He had eight strikeouts and only walked one. In the second game,
Garrett Ham (Sr. Albuquerque, N.M.) was the starter and collared the loss.Â
At the plate, the Bulldogs had 22 hits between the two games. The majority of those came in game one, and seven of them went for extra bases.
Jonah Shabry (Jr. Boulder Creek, Calif.),
Hunter Hughes (Jr.Tigard, Ore.), and
Noah Nelson (Jr. Danville, Ill.) all hit doubles.
Kris Perez (Sr. Miramar, Fla.) hit a ball of the wall in right ceterfield that led to a triple, and
Kyle Lux (Sr. Lewes, Del.),
Trevor Johnson (Jr. San Diego, Calif.), and Nelson hit the ball over the fence.Â
In game two, the Bulldogs had eight more hits, including doubles from Shabry and Johnson, and an inside the park home run by
Bo Slaymaker (So. Johnstown, Colo.)
The Bulldogs and Defenders will take the field again on Saturday for another double header out at Bulldog Park. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
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