Atchison, Kan. – The McPherson College baseball team got tripped up on Sunday, dropping both games of a double header with Benedictine College.
In game one on Sunday, it was defensive miscues by the Bulldogs that led to a 6-4 win for the Ravens. Three errors by the Bulldog defense led directly two of the Raven runs, allowing the home team back in the game and ultimately the win.
The Bulldog offense out-hit the Ravens 8-7, with two of their eight hits going for extra bases. James Canar, Caleb Feuerstake, and Kevinn Castillo each had two hits for the Bulldogs, all of them of the single base variety. The two Bulldog extra base hits were doubles by Gage Ninness, and Hayden Foster.
Alex Amaral made his first start as a Bulldog, on the mound in game one. He went three innings, giving up two runs on three hits with three strikeouts and zero walks. In the fourth inning, the Bulldogs went to their bullpen and brought in Drake Miller. He lasted only an inning and was saddled with the loss, credited with four runs on two hits, with only two of the runs were earned. The final two innings were worked by Justin Lockey, who also made his Bulldog debut on Sunday. He pitched two scoreless innings, scattering just two hits.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks to some sketchy defense and plate work by the Ravens. After a scoreless second inning, the Raven got on the board with two runs, on a two out bloop double to shallow centerfield. The Bulldogs retook the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth, but gave it all back in the bottom of the inning, allowing the Ravens to plate four runs. The Bulldogs couldn't generate any runs in their final two at bats and Benedictine evened the series with a two run victory.
In the series finale, the Bulldogs shored up their defense, but struggled to get their high powered offense going. They plated three runs on just three hits, a single by Antonio Hyrnkiw, and a pair of solo home runs by Noah Nelson, and Feuerstake.
The Bulldogs sent Blake Maddock to the hill for the start in the finale. He put in four innings of work, allowing just two runs on five hits with three walks, and four strikeouts. He left the game after the fourth inning with the Bulldogs trailing 2-0. Zach Reynolds came out of the pen for the fifth inning. He gave up two runs on two hits, including a homerun, and had three strikeouts and no walks. The two runs the Ravens scored on Reynolds allowed them to retake the lead so he was credited with the loss. Rolando Fletes came in in the sixth and set down the Ravens in order, striking out two of the three hitters he faced.
The Ravens scored one run in both the first and second innings to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs were shut out until the fifth inning. Feurestake led off with a solo shot and then Hyrnkiw hit a sacrifice fly, driving in Castillo. In the bottom of the inning a two run homerun by the Ravens gave them a 4-2 lead. In their final at bat, the Bulldogs were down to their final out when Nelson homered to right field to keep hope alive. Unfortunately the rally stalled when Hyrnkiw grounded out to second base to end the game.
"This weekend was a tale of two very different days for us," said first year head coach Kyle MacKinnon. "Day one we saw the offense carry us and allow us to cover up some of our blemishes. Day two however were both tight, competitive games. It exposed some of our weaknesses and it is the reason why we play a talented Benedictine team. We will stack the holes and look forward to getting after more solid teams in Louisiana."
After the series with Benedictine, the Bulldogs start the season 1-2. They will have a few days of practice this week to address some of the issues that came to light from their opening weekend before heading down to Louisiana on Friday next week for four games as part of the Cajun Collision tournament. The Bulldogs will play Louisiana State University Alexandria and Louisiana Christian University on Friday at 10:00 am and 2:30 pm. On Saturday they play University of Science and Arts Oklahoma at 10:00 am and then wrap up the weekend with a 2:00 rematch with Central Methodist University, who beat the Bulldogs at the NAIA Regional last spring.
