OZARK, Mo.— The strong start to KCAC play for the Bulldogs continues as they secured a pair of victories over the Evangel University Valor on Sunday (Feb. 23) to move to 9-7 on the year overall and 4-1 in conference play.
GAME ONE- Evangel-5 McPherson-6
The Valor were able to get off to a hot start as they struck first in the bottom of the first inning as an RBI single and an RBI double gave Evangel a 2-0 lead. It did not take long for the Bulldogs to respond in a big way as a
Jared Kramp RBI double got MC on the board and a fielder's choice and a wild pitch turned the tide and gave MC a 3-2 advantage.
Unlike the quick response the Bulldogs provided to Evangel taking the lead, the Valor found it more difficult thanks to the strong showing from
Matthew Bomersback. The reigning KCAC Pitcher of the Week was solid once again, putting in five strong innings while only giving up two earned runs while striking out four batters. Evangel was able to push across the tying run to make it a 3-3 deadlock, but a throwing error and a
Peyton Starr RBI single gave the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning.
With a two run deficit, the Valor made good of their potential last chance by pushing across a pair of runs to tie the game up at five runs apiece to send the game into extra innings. Determined to not give the Valor a chance to capitalize on the momentum,
Luke Nordean came up big with an RBI single to score a run and give the Bulldogs their third lead of the contest. Now looking to lock down the victory for the second time, MC turned to
Zach Foote out of the bullpen and he did not disappoint as he needed just seven pitches to secure an extra innings victory for MC.
GAME TWO- Evangel-4 McPherson-7
Much like game one, the Valor struck first thanks to a first inning RBI single and a sacrifice fly to give them a 2-0 lead. In a similar fashion to game one, the Bulldogs came right back at the Valor as
Jared Kramp scored
Jace Essig on an RBI single to make it a 2-1 Evangel lead in the top of the third inning.
While the Valor were kept off the scoreboard thanks to a stellar showing from
Levi Betts, who went five innings while only surrendering two runs and striking out five batters, the Bulldogs bats came to life in the fifth inning. The big blow came courtesy of
Dawson Walters, who launched a three run homerun to give MC a 4-2 lead in the blink of the eye.
Luke Nordean, the hero from game one, stayed hot as he ripped a two run RBI single into center field to grow the MC lead to 6-2.
The MC run did not stop there as
Peyton Starr added one more run with an RBI single in the top of the sixth to make it 7-2. With the Valor running out of opportunities, they began to chip away at the lead as they scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-4, but that's all Evangel could muster as the Bulldogs held on and secured the doubleheader sweep.
The Bulldogs wrap up the series with Evangel tomorrow, February 24 with the third and final game of the series. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.
