McPHERSON, Kan. — The McPherson College Bulldogs dropped a pair of close battles in their home opener Monday afternoon (Feb. 24), falling 4-2 and 5-4 to MidAmerica Nazarene at Bulldog Park.
GAME ONE – MidAmerica Nazarene 4, McPherson 2
MNU had no shortage of baserunners in the early going of the opener, leaving the bases loaded in the top of the second inning. The Pioneers finally broke through in the third with an RBI single by Aariana Paprocki.
The Pioneers added two more in the top of the fourth before taking a 4-0 advantage in the sixth on an RBI triple by Kelly Stoakes.
Down but not out, the Bulldogs began a late inning rally to cut into the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Karisa Hernandez led off the frame with a single through the left side, before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Melaney Granados. Then Alexandrea Garcia kept the inning going with an RBI single, driving in Alivia Lange.
However, that would be all the Bulldogs could muster, as they stranded one in the bottom of the seventh.
The Pioneers finished with 13 hits, led by four batters with two hits apiece.
Garcia paced the Bulldogs with a pair of hits, driving in one run. Hernandez, Lange, and Sarsfield each finished with one hit apiece.
GAME TWO – MidAmerica Nazarene 5, McPherson 4
It took a bit longer to decide game two, as the Bulldogs rallied from a 3-1 deficit to force extra innings.
MC entered the sixth inning with just two hits, but Hernandez led off the inning with an infield single before coming around to score on a double by Lange. Then Garcia stepped up to the plate, and switched places with Lange, driving in the game tying run.
The Bulldogs had a chance in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to a pair of singles by Kaitlyn Sarsfield and pinch-hitter Megan Wright, but were held off the scoreboard, sending the game into extras.
An RBI double in the gap in left-center by Maddie Brooks put the Pioneers on top once again, but Lange answered with a sacrifice fly to score Savannah Robles and knot the score at 4-4.
The Pioneers again scratched across the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, but this time the Bulldogs had no answer.
MC finished with eight hits, led by Garcia who went 2-for-4 at the plate. Lange paced the Bulldogs with a pair of RBIs. Landri Lopez got the call in the circle for the Bulldogs in game two, throwing 7.1 innings and allowing just two earned runs on 11 hits.
The Bulldogs hit the road this weekend for the Hosea Bell Red Dirt Classic played at the USA Softball Complex in Oklahoma City. MC will open the weekend with Langston and Oklahoma City on Friday before Squaring off against Harris-Stowe and Nelson on Saturday.
