Wichita, Kan – McPherson took on the Friends University Falcons for a three-game series over the weekend. The Bulldogs rolled into Friday on a four-game streak, outscoring opponents 28-11. The Falcons came into the series with a midweek win over Sterling College.
The Basics
Location: Westside Athletic Field
Records: MC 9-13 (6-5 KCAC), TC 11-12 (3-3 KCAC)
Game 1: MC 4, FU 5
The series opened up with a tight ballgame on Friday afternoon as the Bulldogs fell by just one run to the Falcons.
Daniel Norris got the nod for Game One and would throw for six innings allowing four runs off of ten hits, issuing two strikeouts and three walks. After being taken out in the bottom of the seventh, that's when the Falcons would find the deciding run on an RBI single from Hudson Sharp.
Offensively, McPherson relied heavily on
Austin Easter who finished the day 3-4 at the plate with an RBI to accompany his stat-line. A very notable statistic was that he was left on base all three times throughout the contest.
Despite eight hits in the ballgame for the Bulldogs, Friends managed 11 hits off of McPherson and held off the visitors for the series-opening win by way of 5-4.
Game 2: MC 12, FU 2
Game Two featured a dominant performance from the Bulldogs with a 10-run victory to even the series at 1-1 on Saturday. McPherson opened up the scoring immediately in the first inning with a four-spot highlighted with Austin Eater's 2 RBI double to send home
Myles Vazquez and Colt Uphold.
Will Sevier later sent home
Marcus Patton on a deep sacrifice fly to center field for the 4-0 lead. The next two runs were scored on Kramp's and Baker's home runs to give McPherson a comfortable 6-0 lead.
Kadin Gehring earned the win on the mound for McPherson after throwing seven innings allowing just two runs on seven hits. Facing 31 total batters, he would issue five strikeouts and five walks.
The run-rule would come into effect in the seventh inning after Baker and
Jaylon Woodley drove home two runs in the top half of the inning to extend McPherson's lead to 12-2. The Falcons were unable to find any runs in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Bulldogs a statement 12-2 victory in Game Two.
Game Three: MC 0, FU 1
Game Three featured a defensive battle to decide the series between McPherson and Friends. Both teams would use three pitchers for the final game of the series with just six combined hits found on the day.
Austin Easter and
Ky'rell Taylor were the only players for McPherson to find a ball in play all day. Despite Baker finishing the game 0-2, he was left on base twice.
Matthew Vigil and
Francisco Paradis both threw for an inning each after
Zachary Essman's four innings thrown following his start.
Friends found the lone run in the bottom of the third inning were Camden Miller grounded out to
Jared Kramp at second base; with Xavier Champ on third, he found enough time to make it home and give Friends the lead. With the Bulldogs unable to find an answer in the batter's box, the Falcons took the 1-0 victory to seal the series.
Up Next
McPherson will host the University of Saint Mary on Saturday and Sunday this upcoming weekend for a three-game series to continue KCAC action. First pitch is set for March 14
th at 12:00 PM.
