Sterling, Kan – The Bulldogs took on the Sterling College Warriors this past weekend for their first look at KCAC action this season. Both teams came into this series struggling; McPherson rolled into the weekend with a 3-8 record, similar to that of Sterling who sat at 3-10.
The Basics
Location: SC Baseball Field
Records: MC 4-10-8 (1-2 KCAC), SC 5-11 (2-4 KCAC)
Game One: MC 10, SC 11
The Bulldogs managed to find 10 runs in Game One, but were unable to hold Sterling off in the series-opening matchup on a brisk Saturday afternoon. In a back-and-forth battle with the Warriors, the visitors had to claw their way back into the game after Sterling had scored the opening three runs within the first two innings. Jaylon Woodley’s triple in the third inning got McPherson on the board sending home two runs to cut the lead to 3-2. Marcus Patton would tie the game at 3-3 on an RBI groundout later in the inning.
Sterling used the next two innings to take their lead back as they would score four unanswered runs, with their RBI single in the bottom of the fourth giving them a 7-3 advantage.
McPherson managed to knot the game up at 7-7 following Taylor’s RBI double in the sixth inning, but the Warriors answered once again and scored another four unanswered runs.
In the top of the ninth, Marcus Patton and Adan Soto both homered to combine for three late runs in a last-minute effort, but the Warriors prevailed and took the 11-10 victory in Game One.
Game Two: MC 0, SC 10
Sterling dominated Game Two as they would go on to put the run-rule into effect after seven innings of baseball to start off the Sunday doubleheader.
McPherson managed just four hits in the ballgame. It would be two hits each from Marcus Patton and Troy Stukenberg, but neither of the four were able to bring home any runs for the Bulldogs. The visitors were struck out 12 times and left 11 runners on base, while the host Warriors matched their Game One total with 10 runs off 11 hits.
Game Three: MC 9, SC 8
The Bulldogs were able to pull away late in Game Three on Sunday after a miraculous seventh inning performance. Sterling’s Game Three was highlighted by a five-run second inning that took away an opening 4-0 McPherson lead. They would hold onto a 7-4 lead for two innings before growing the lead to four in the bottom of the sixth.
In the seventh inning, with McPherson down to their final three outs, the Bulldogs were able to put together a five-run inning of their own. With bases loaded, McPherson capitalized on an error from the Warriors to score their first run as Ky’Rell Taylor crossed home plate. Colt Uphold’s 2 RBI double would cut the score down to a manageable 8-7 deficit, which was tied at 8-8 after a sac-fly from Troy Stukenberg. Austin Easter’s sac-fly shortly after would give the Bulldogs their first lead since the second inning at 9-8.
McPherson did not allow any runs in the bottom half of the inning to close out the weekend with a 9-8 Game Three victory over the Sterling Warriors.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will be on the road this Tuesday for a single nine-inning game with the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas on February 24th at 2:00 PM.
