McPherson, Kan – The Bulldogs hosted Southwestern College following a 24-9 midweek loss to Tabor College on March 24th. Prior to the weekend, they sat at a 10-9 record and looked to improve their spot in the KCAC standings hunting for a high seed with the conference tournament approaching quickly.
The Basics
Location: TC Construction Field at Bulldog Park
Records: MC 16-17 (13-9 KCAC), SC 11-23 (8-17 KCAC)
Game One: MC 20, SC 3
If there was one thing that the Bulldogs did well over the weekend, it was putting a bat to a ball. After three games, McPherson finished with 64 hits against the Moundbuilders.
Game One gave the fans at TC Construction Field a great idea of what to expect for this series, scoring 20 runs and holding the Moundbuilders to just three. They had six batters that had at least three hits; the team’s overall batting percentage was an astonishing .575 with 19 RBIs to accompany. Jared Kramp and Colt Uphold blasted the team’s two home runs in the ballgame with Uphold leading the day with four total RBIs.
Daniel Norris earned his third win of the year to start the weekend series on the mound after throwing five innings with five strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed. The Bulldogs took this one in dominant fashion 20-3.
Game Two: MC 23, SC 4
Myles Vazquez was the story of Game Two after going yard twice and batting home four runs, going a perfect three-of-three at the plate.
The Bulldogs scored in every single inning for this seven-inning ballgame, featuring a 13-spot in the fourth inning where it felt like McPherson was simply at batting practice. Three home runs were found from Vazquez, Jared Kramp, and Steele Jackson. By the end of the inning, the Bulldogs held a 17-3 lead over the Moundbuilders.
Francisco Paradis got the start for the Bulldogs and pitched for three innings, issuing two strikeouts and allowing three hits with three runs. McPherson used four more pitchers throughout the contest and ended with Easton Howard on the mound who threw the final inning of the game. Howard’s final pitch of the game was a strikeout on Southwestern’s Gabe Rodriguez to give McPherson the 23-4 win.
Game Three: MC 21, SC 13
The Moundbuilders were far more competitive in the final game of the series, but the Bulldogs were on too good of a run from the first two games of the series to slow them down in the third matchup.
McPherson held a 13-6 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning. The Moundbuilders were able to put together a six-run inning that brought them back into the contest, but the Bulldogs matched nearly every single run scored by Southwestern to propel themselves back to an 18-12 lead.
With the Moundbuilders finding just one more run in the eighth, the Bulldogs rounded out their weekend with a 21-13 Game Three victory, completing the series sweep.
Kadin Gehring earned his fourth with of the season after pitching four innings and issuing four strikeouts. Offensively, Marcus Patton drove home seven RBIs for the Bulldogs; his day was highlighted with a grand slam in the second inning. Steele Jackson followed closely behind with a five RBIs on three hits.
