Photo by Tabor SID Staff
Great Bend, Kan. – The McPherson College baseball team stayed alive in the KCAC tournament by knocking off the #1 seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles 6-5 in extra innings Thursday evening.
 The Bulldogs out hit the KCAC regular season champs 11 to 9, and were led by Noah Nelson, Malik Bond, and Kyle Lux. Bond was 2 for 5 with a pair of singles and a run scored, while Nelson was also 2 for 5 but had a homerun and drove in three. Lux finished his day going 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
Tyler Norris got the start for the Bulldogs on the bump. The towering lefty was fantastic, going six innings and allowing three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and just one walk. In the seventh, Jacob Gilcrease came out of the pen and worked the next five innings. After a shaky start in which he gave up a two run homerun to the Cody Muncy, the KCAC's player of the year, he settled down and was brilliant, especially in the extra innings. The Bulldogs took the lead with Gilcrease on the mound so he was credited with the win.
After three uneventful, scoreless innings, the Eagles broke the 0-0 ties with back to back solo homeruns off of Norris. The Bulldogs got both of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth, one on a wild pitch, and the other on an RBI single by Lux.
The Eagles retook the lead, scoring a single run in the top of the sixth, then two more in the seventh on Muncy's homerun. A half inning later, Nelson came through with a three run jack to right field, to tie the game at 5. Neither team was able to score in the final three innings, so the game headed into extras. In the bottom of the ninth, the Bulldogs had a runner on third with one out, but were unable to push the run across.
The tenth inning went quick, but in the bottom of the 11th, the Bulldogs put the pressure on the Eagles again. Hunter Robinson led off with a single, pinch hitting for Tyler Wood. Wood re-entered to run for Robinson at first base, and was moved over into scoring position by a sac bunt by Kris Perez. They intentionally walked Trevor Johnson to set up the double play with Lux at the plate. The Bulldog right fielder hit a ball to the right field warning track, but just didn't get enough of the barrel on the ball to get it to leave the park. Wood tagged up on the play and made it to third with two outs.
James Canar strode to the plate looking for some redemption. Canar had an opportunity to end the game with a single in the ninth, but struck out swinging. This time he took a hanging curve ball on an 0-1 count, and shot it into left center field, scoring Wood from third to end the game.
Bulldog skipper, Bryan Moses commented in the Bulldogs' thrilling come from behind win saying, "It was rewarding to see the DOGS battle like that. I think the guys knew that the pressure was insignificant today. We were competing against a higher seed who was expected to be victorious. This keeps us alive and makes tomorrow even more exciting."
The Bulldogs stay in the hunt for a tournament championship. They will play the Bethany College Swedes on Friday at 3:00 pm for spot in the championship game. Â Â
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