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Box Score 3 Photo by Natalia Ahrens
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College Baseball team wrapped up the regular season this past weekend with a three game sweep of the Friends University Falcons, moving to 38-10 overall, and tying the record for most wins in a season which the 2021 team set a season ago.
Besides it being senior weekend, the Bulldogs had a lot to play for in this series with the Falcons. At stake was the #2 seed in the upcoming KCAC Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs needed to win at least two of the three games to secure the second seed and the coveted first round bye that comes with it.
Despite the added pressure, the Bulldogs went out and handled their business. They put on another offensive showcase, racking up 48 hits including seven doubles, and 11 homeruns, and outscoring the Falcons 41-16. Their 11 homeruns are the second most in a three game series this season.
The Bulldogs won the opening game of the series on Friday 11-5 behind a strong showing on the mound from Alex Escobar, who picked up his ninth win of the year. He went five and a third, allowing four runs, three of them earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
The offense was led by Trevor Johnson who had a monster day going 4 for 6 with a single and three homeruns. He also scored four times and drove in six more runs. Joining him with multiple hits in the contest were Caleb Feuerstake (3 for 4 with a homerun), Jake Pearson (3 for 5), Kevinn Castillo (2 for 4), and Hayden Foster (2 for 4).
The two teams resumed the series on Saturday with a double header starting at noon. Things got a little dicey early in game two as the game was tied 6-6 through the first five innings of play. However, the Bulldogs found their form in the final four innings, outscoring the Falcons 13-1 down the stretch.
Isaiah Vasquez got the start on the bump for the Bulldogs, and went the first four innings giving up three runs on four hits, but didn't factor into the decision. The Falcons tied the game with Zach Reynolds on the hill out of the bullpen, but the Bulldogs retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth with Alex Amaral pitching so he was credited with the win, moving him to 2-0 on the year.
The Bulldogs scored 19 runs on 22 hits including five doubles, and three homeruns. James Canar and Foster led the Bulldogs, both going 4 for 5. Canar. The extra base hits were doubles by Pearson (2), Castillo, Foster, and Jonah Shabry. Canar, and Pearson (2) went deep for the Bulldogs.
With the win, the Bulldogs secured the #2 seed in the conference tournament, and in between games they celebrated the 13 seniors that will graduate later this month. All things considered, the Bulldogs could have taken game three for granted, but instead they locked in and completed the sweep, winning 11-4 in the finale.
Blake Maddock got the start on the bump for the Bulldogs and picked up the win. He allowed three runs on eight hits, with a pair of strikeouts and one walk.
Offensively, the Bulldogs pounded out ten more hits with half of them going for extra bases. Shabry, Feuerstake, and Hunter Robinson recorded multiple hits in the finale. The extra base hits were doubles by Feuerstake and Robinson, and homeruns by Shabry, Pearson, and Kurt Golubski.
Bulldog skipper, Kyle MacKinnon summed up the series saying, "Great weekend of celebration for our seniors and a great weekend for results. We had a good idea we were going to be the two seed in the tournament next week, so we game-planned accordingly to set ourselves up for Great Bend." He added, "Outstanding weekend on all fronts with many stand out performances. I'm extremely proud of this group, especially the seniors. We're going to work hard to send them out with a tournament championship."
The KCAC tournament (Great Bend, Kan.) gets underway next Wednesday, but with the opening round bye secured with the #2 seed, the Bulldogs won't play until Thursday 11:00 am where they will take on the winner of the opening round match-up between Tabor and Kansas Weselayn.
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