McPHERSON, Kan. — The Bulldogs were able to secure a split in their doubleheader against the Southwestern College Moundbuilders on Sunday (Apr. 6) as they took game one in convincing fashion but dropped game two after coming up just short in the final inning.
GAME ONE- McPherson-7 Southwestern-3
Southwestern bagged the first pair of runs of the contest as a sacrifice fly in the first inning followed up by a solo homerun in the third gave the Moundbuilders a 2-0 lead after the first trio of frames.
Colt Sussex-Uphold got MC on the board in an improbable way as he secured a triple that turned into a run as a throwing error allowed him to score. A wild pitch in the top half of the fifth inning pushed in another run for Southwestern as they now held a 3-1 lead.
The Bulldogs came to life offensively in the bottom half of the fifth and took control as a double by Sussex-Uphold brought home a pair of runs to tie the game up at three runs apiece.
Marcus Patton cashed in not long after as he also brought in a pair of runs via an RBI single to give MC a 5-3 lead heading into the middle innings.
Jace Essig doubled the lead in the eighth inning as he launched a two run homerun to make it a 7-3 game and put game one out of reach. The Bulldogs kept the Moundbuilders off the bases in the ninth and secured the victory.
GAME TWO- Southwestern-4 McPherson-3
Southwestern once again scored the first run of the contest with a loud bang as a long solo homerun gave the Moundbuilders a 1-0 lead yet again. It didn't take long this go around for MC to respond as a wild pitch tied the game and a
Jared Kramp double scored two runs to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead.
The trio of runs scored by the Bulldogs in the first two innings served as the only three they'd score for the entire contest as the Southwestern pitching staff shut down the MC offense. Despite the best efforts from the Bulldog pitching crew, Southwestern was able to claw back and take a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning.
The Bulldogs had the tying run at second base in the bottom half of the seventh thanks to a Sussex-Uphold leadoff double, but the guys who followed him up were unable to bring him in as Southwestern held on and took game two.
The Bulldogs will be back in Bulldog Park as they clash with Central Christian College as the battle for the McPherson Collegiate Cup comes to the diamond on Wednesday, April 9. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.
