McPherson, Kan – After a rocky start to the year, McPherson hosted the Avila Eagles for a KCAC weekend series. Prior to this series, the Bulldogs dropped a midweek matchup to nationally ranked Kansas Wesleyan 13-7; Avila also had midweek struggles with a close 6-5 loss to Evangel on the previous Tuesday.
The Basics
Location: TC Construction at Bulldog Park
Records: MC 7-11 (4-3 KCAC), AU 6-8 (2-7 KCAC)
Game One: MC 6, AU 1
Kadin Gehring got the nod for the Bulldogs on the mound and had an excellent day at Bulldog Park. Gehring would throw just over four innings allowing just five hits and no runs, striking out seven of the 23 batters faced on the afternoon.
Nick Thompson took over for Gehring in the fifth inning and allowed just one run;
Matthew Vigil would later check into the game for McPherson and pitch from the seventh to the ninth inning. Vigil would allow only two hits and issue five strikeouts, earning his first save of the year with the Bulldogs taking the 6-1 series-opening victory.
In the batter's box,
Troy Stukenberg had the golden bat as he would finish the day 3-3 to bat home half of McPherson's runs in Game One.
Jared Kramp's 2-3 day allowed him to cross home plate two times and steal a base from the Eagles.
Game Two: MC 8, AU 5
McPherson opened up Saturday with the 8-5 victory over Avila in the nine-inning ballgame.
Marcus Patton moved the runners in the first inning with a 2 RBI single for the early 2-0 lead; he would later score on a passed ball to take a 3-0 lead into the second inning.
Jaylon Woodley picked up the next two RBIs for the Bulldogs in the second and fourth inning to extend McPherson's lead to a comfortable 5-0.
Myles Vazquez's RBI single later in the fourth inning gave McPherson the six-run advantage.
Just when it looked like the Bulldogs would run away with the rest of the ballgame, Avila homered in the sixth inning to send home three runs and cut the lead in half giving the Eagles new life. A sacrifice fly in the eighth would bring Avila to within two runs of McPherson.
Jared Kramp added two runs for McPherson in the bottom half on a 2 RBI single to build McPherson's lead back up to 8-4. Despite this being the last time the Bulldogs crossed the plate for the remainder of the game, McPherson held Avila to just one run in the top of the 9
th to take the 8-5 victory. This would give McPherson their first series win of the year with Game Three still left to be played.
Game Three: MC 10, AU 2
A four-run first inning set the tone for Bulldogs in their first series sweep of the 2026 campaign; they would go on to win Game Three in dominant fashion behind the arm of Zach Essman and a laundry list of batters.
Despite Kramp's 3-4 performance, it was
Troy Stukenberg that batted in four runs for the Bulldogs; he would find three of them off of his lone hit in the bottom of the sixth on a 3 RBI double to left field.
Essman finished his four innings on the mound with just one hit and one run; despite just two strikeouts issued, Essman had great efficiency with just 63 pitches thrown. McPherson rolled their way to a series sweep with the 10-2 victory at home.
Up Next
McPherson will host Tabor College this upcoming Tuesday at TC Construction Field in their first meeting with the Bluejays this season. First pitch is set for 2:00 PM on March 3
rd.
