McPHERSON, Kan. — In the penultimate home doubleheader of the season, the McPherson College Bulldogs grabbed a run-rule victory in game two to salvage a split with the Bethany College Swedes at Bulldog Park.
GAME ONE – Bethany 4, McPherson 1
Offense was scarce for the Bulldogs in the opener, as they were held to just one baserunner through the first three innings. The lone Bulldog on the base paths during that stretch came in the second inning when Layla Towner singled into left field, but she was stranded at first base.
The Swedes held a 2-0 lead after two innings of play after an RBI single by Abigail Taylor and a sacrifice fly by Maggie Heath in the top of the second.
MC cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the fourth inning, after Karisa Hernandez reached on a leadoff single before coming around to score on a base hit up the middle by Towner.
Samantha Hollingsworth nearly kept the Swedes off the board the rest of the way, but the Swedes bats awakened once again with two outs in the top of the seventh. Three straight singles by the Swedes pushed across a pair of runs.
The Swedes finished with 10 hits, while all but two batters who stepped to the plate finished with a base hit. MC was held to just four hits, led by a pair of singles by Towner.
Hollingsworth threw seven innings, while striking out two batters.
GAME TWO – McPherson 9, Bethany 1 (5 innings)
In the nightcap, again the Swedes scored first when Shantell Evans hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Megan O'Neal.
Bethany loaded the bases in the top of the first, but from there Bulldog hurler Madison Jarvis settled, holding the Swedes to just four hits, two of which came in the first two innings.
MC's offense finally exploded in the bottom of the third inning, notching five runs on six hits while benefiting from one Swede error.
Savannah Robles led things off with a double that bounced off the left field wall, then a bunt-single by Hernandez followed by a throwing error by the catcher allowed Robles to tie the score at 1-1.
Melaney Granados kept things going with a single to shallow centerfield, before Towner hit a three-run homer over the left-field fence.
However, the Bulldogs weren't done yet in the third, as Alivia Lange launched a solo shot of her own to make it a 5-1 MC lead after three.
After a shutdown inning in the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs offense went back to work, this time doing it in a different way.
A leadoff single by Hernandez gave the Bulldogs a baserunner, then Towner drew a walk, and Lange was hit by a pitch to quickly load the bases. Sidney Larrew joined the party, bringing in Hernandez with a line drive single just over the glove of the third baseman.
Jarvis helped herself with an RBI single that landed in shallow right field, then Emily Peterson finished off the scoring with a single of her own, driving in a pair to make it a 9-1 lead. A 4-6-3 double play in the top of the fifth completed the run-rule.
The Bulldogs finished with 10 hits in game two, as all but one batter recorded a hit. Four batters finished with two hits.
Jarvis was outstanding in the circle for the Bulldogs, throwing five innings with four strikeouts, while allowing just one run on four hits.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs travel to Wichita Saturday (Apr. 19) for a doubleheader against Friends University. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
