SHREVEPORT, La. — The McPherson College Bulldogs season came to an end Tuesday (May 16) after falling to the second-ranked LSU Shreveport 6-4 in the tenth inning in Shreveport, La. They got the day started with a 9-1 win over Dillard University.
Designated the road team in game one, the Bulldogs came out hot after Hunter Robinson and Caleb Feuerstake reached on a pair of leadoff walks. Antonio Fernandez did the rest, hitting a triple to clear the bases and give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 3-0 when Kevinn Castillo drove in one more.
The Bulldogs added one more in the third on a sacrifice fly by Dawson Walters, brought Castillo in, then another in the fourth thanks to an RBI single by Fernandez.
A three-run fifth inning blew the game wide open, starting with a single up the middle by Hayden Foster, scoring Andres Artola. Robinson kept the inning going with an RBI double through the right side, then Fernandez capped off the frame with a sacrifice fly.
Foster singled up the middle once again in the eighth, bringing in Artola before the Bleu Devils plated one run in the top of the ninth.
Fernandez finished the opener with four RBIs thanks to three hits. Robinson added three hits of his own. Tyler Norris got the start on the hill for the Bulldogs and had a no-hit bid until a single up the middle by Emmanuel Taveras in the fifth inning. Norris finished with seven strikeouts in eight innings while only allowing four hits.
The Bulldogs fell into a hole in the second game, with host LSU Shreveport grabbing a 4-0 advantage after the first five innings. But McPherson stormed back in the seventh when Feuerstake cleared the bases by reaching on an error by the right fielder with the bases loaded. Castillo leveled the score with a solo blast, his sixth homer of the season.
McPherson had a chance to end the game in the bottom of the ninth with runners in scoring position but was unable to scratch across the winning run.
The Pilots took advantage, and scored a pair of runs in the top of the 10th, then held on to take down the Bulldogs.
Blake Maddock threw nine innings with two strikeouts while allowing five hits. Fernandez had three hits in game two, and Feuerstake added two hits.
The Bulldogs' season comes to an end after winning their first-ever KCAC Tournament championship and advancing to their third straight NAIA Tournament appearance. McPherson finishes the season with a 37-16 record and a 26-7 mark in KCAC play.
