The McPherson College baseball team throws out the first pitch for the 2022 season on Saturday, heading to northeast Kansas for a three game series with the Benedictine Ravens, members of the Heart of America Conference.
The Bulldogs and Ravens were originally scheduled for a double header on both Saturday and Sunday, but the winter storm that hit the central states this week forced the teams to revamp the schedule, moving to a single nine inning game on Saturday afternoon starting at 1:00 pm and then a double header scheduled for a noon start on Sunday.
The Bulldogs and Ravens had similar seasons last spring. The Ravens finished their 2021 campaign with a 34-16 overall record and 19-10 mark in the Heart. The Bulldogs wound up 38-15 overall in 2021, and were 24-6 in KCAC play. Both teams got hot in their respective conference championships. The Ravens lost to Central Methodist in the tournament finals, while the Bulldogs also made it to the KCAC tournament finals, losing to Ottawa.
As the tournament runner-ups, each program got the call from the NAIA with an invite to the National Tournament Opening Round Regional Tournament. The Ravens went 0-3 in their regional with one of their losses coming to Ottawa, while the Bulldogs were 2-2 at their regional and ironically one of their losses came at the hands of Central Methodist.
For the Bulldogs, 2021 was a banner year. Their runner-up finish in the KCAC tournament was their deepest run in the tournament in program history, and their trip to the NAIA Opening Round was also a program first. They set numerous records including season wins and conference wins. They finished the season in the NAIA's top 5 in four statistical categories including total RBI – 511 (5th), RBI per game – 9.642 (5th), slugging percentage – 0.629 (3rd), and homeruns per game – 2.226 (3rd).
The 2022 Bulldogs have high hopes, and equally high expectations, and they will be led by first year head coach, Kyle MacKinnon. Coach MacKinnon seized the reins of the MC baseball program late last summer when former Bulldog skipper, Dr. Bryan Moses, departed for another coaching opportunity closer to family back in California. Coach MacKinnon has been a part of the Bulldog program the past five seasons, serving on Coach Moses' staff as the MC hitting coach.
"Our staff and team is really excited to get the '22 season underway," said MacKinnon. "We have had a good fall, and an excellent start to our spring season. You can tell our guys are a little sick of seeing each other in scrimmages, and are excited to play someone else. Our revamped schedule will test us early and hopefully get us ready for the gauntlet that is the KCAC schedule. We know that there are plenty of top teams in this conference, and if you don't show up prepared on any given weekend, you can easily drop a game or a series."
Both the Ravens and Bulldogs will be stepping on the diamond, this weekend, for the first time this season. All three games of the weekend series will be streamed online at https://www.heartconferencenetwork.com/benedictine/.
Stay up to date on everything Bulldog baseball at www.macbulldogs.com and follow the team on Twitter @MacCollegeBSB
