SALINA, Kan. — The Bulldogs found themselves locked in a pair of battles on Saturday (Feb. 1) as they dropped their first game of the day against Doane University 5-4 but bounced back to secure a 9-8 win in extra innings against William Penn.
Game One- RV Doane University-5 McPherson College-4
The Flaming Tigers started off flaming hot as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a pair of home runs, the first of which was good for two runs.
Levi Betts, getting the nod as the starter for MC, was solid from that point on as he pitched five complete innings with 83 pitches thrown. He did surrender four runs but struck out four batters before being pulled. Come the top of the sixth inning, the bats woke up a bit thanks to
Colt Sussex-Uphold launching a two run home run to make it a 4-2 ballgame and get the Bulldogs right back into the game.
Doane was able to strike back and extend their lead to 5-2 off an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, but the Bulldogs were far from out of it. The bottom of the seventh saw MC begin to claw their way back into the game. With the bases loaded,
Jared Kramp worked a huge walk to score a run and make it a 5-3 game.
Marcus Burton did the same, working a huge walk with the bags filled up to make it a one run game. With the bases loaded and only one out on the board,
Dawson Walters had a shot to be the hero. However, the Flaming Tigers flashed the leather and secured a massive double play to extinguish the comeback by the Bulldogs and secure the 5-4 victory.
Game Two- William Penn-8 McPherson College-9
Runs were at a premium in the second game of the day as William Penn quickly threw the first punch with a solo homerun to give them a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. MC responded rapidly as Kramp launched a solo homerun to tie the game and
Jace Essig hammered a three run shot to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 advantage. William Penn responded with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning as a hit batter and a fielder's choice made it a 4-3 game before Kramp sent his third homerun of the day and second of the game out of the park to make it a two run game once again.
Matthew Bomersback, who got the start for MC in the contest, was pulled after four strong innings of work and 68 pitches thrown where he only allowed two hits and struck out six batters. The pitching change allowed the Statesmen to completely flip the game on its head as a three run shot in the top of the fifth inning gave William Penn a 6-5 lead that did not last long as Sussex-Uphold launched his second homerun of the game and fourth of the year to tie the game while Walters brought in
Peyton Starr to retake the lead. The bottom of the seventh inning saw more sew-saw action as William Penn tied and then took the lead 8-7 in the top half of the inning followed up by another Sussex-Uphold homerun to tie the game right back up at eight. Sussex-Uphold's 6-6 effort was historic as he now holds the program record for hits in a single game.
As the game continued to extras with the score tied at eight runs a piece, the Bulldogs began to set themselves up to secure the victory in the bottom of the 10th frame. They did just that as
Jameson Caro came up big and secured the RBI single to give MC their first win of the season with a 9-8 final.
The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow, February 2 as they take on another double header as they first face off with the University of Science and Arts at 11 a.m. and then face off with Doane University once again at 1 p.m.
