Photo by Natalia Ahrens
O'Fallon, Mo. – After a tough loss on Tuesday evening at the NAIA Opening round tournament to top seeded Central Methodist University, the McPherson College baseball team squared off against the Benedictine University at Mesa Red Hawks in an elimination game Wednesday afternoon.
The Bulldogs, the visitors on the scoreboard, got the scoring started with a run in the top of the first. The Red Hawks answered in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to tie the game. After a scoreless second inning, the Bulldogs erupted for four runs in the top of the third, one on a solo home run by Trevor Johnson and then the others on a three run bomb from Noah Nelson.
An inning later, they went up 5-1 when Kris Perez scored from third on an RBI single from Kyle Lux. Neither team scored in the fifth, but the Bulldogs added two more runs in the sixth. The first came on an RBI double from Perez that scored Jonah Shabry, then Perez stole third base and then scored on an errant throw by the Red Hawk pitcher.
Now leading 8-1, the Bulldog defense continued putting the clamps on the Red Hawks' offense. After giving up a run in the bottom of the first, the Bulldogs held the Red Hawks scoreless the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs handed the ball to Blake Maddock to start the elimination game. Maddock was masterful, showing very few signs of nerves. He picked up the win, throwing a complete game, and allowing just one run on four hits. He finished with seven strikeouts and just one walk, forced eight groundouts, and induced seven fly outs.
Offensively, the Bulldogs put up eight runs on nine hits, led by Kyle Lux and Trevor Johnson, who both had a pair of hits. Lux was 2 for 4 with two RBI, and Johnson went 2 for 5 with a single and a home run.
With the win, the Bulldogs moved to 38-14 and more importantly, kept hope alive for a trip to the NAIA College World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. They had no time to celebrate the win as they went right back on the field to play the William Carey University Crusaders in another elimination game.
The Crusader call Hattiesburg, Mississippi home, and were seeded second in the O'Fallon bracket They came into the elimination game at 1-1 having defeated Benedictine-Mesa in the first game on Monday, then losing to Central Methodist on Wednesday morning.
The Bulldogs struggled to score runs against the Crusaders, coming up with nine hits, but stranding ten runners on base. After going scoreless for the first six innings, they finally cracked the scoreboard in the seventh when Hunter Robinson scored from third on a groundout by Tyler Wood. They scored a second run an inning later when Nelson hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Kyle Lux from third.
Unfortunately those two runs were not enough. The Crusaders scored solo runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, then put up crooked numbers in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. In all, they put up a total of 10 runs, and secured the win, 10-2.
The Bulldogs send five arms to the mound against the Crusaders, starting with Zach Reynolds. He worked the first four innings, allowing three runs on six hits with one strikeout and one walk and was shackled with the loss. Jacob Gilcrease, Darby Gilbert, Charles Munns, and Drake Miller all came out of the bullpen, and combined for seven runs on six hits with five strikeouts and nine walks.
Johnson again led the Bulldog offense, going 3 for 5 with three singles. The Bulldogs had one lone extra base hit, a double by Jonah Shabry.
Bulldog skipper, Bryan Moses summed up the Bulldogs' historic season saying, "Our players understand how special this year was. Seasons like this don't come around often. This group was incredible. They will always be DOGS.
The Bulldogs end the year with an overall record of 38-15. They set numerous new season records including most wins, and homeruns. They finished the year, hitting 116 bombs, almost double that of their opponents (59) and 62 more than they hit in 2018 when they launched 54.
The Bulldogs have the potential to make another historic run in 2022 as they return six of nine defensive starters, and lose just one starting pitcher to graduation. They will have to replace the Bulldogs' career homerun leader, Kyle Lux, their gold glove center fielder, Kris Perez, and starting short stop Tyler Wood. A tough task, but if the coaching staff can find new recruits in this this year's class even remotely close to those guys, the Bulldogs will be scary good again next spring.
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