McPHERSON, Kan. — The first winning season since 2019 came to an end for the Andale/Garden Plain baseball team at the Grant Sports Complex on Tuesday.
After rallying in the seventh inning in its regional semifinal against Circle, 9-8, McPherson used a 5-run fourth en route to an 8-3 victory in the regional championship game.
Andale/Garden Plain 9, Circle 8
Circle took a 1-0 lead early in the first inning on an error, with Andale/Garden Plain tying the game on a bases-loaded walk by Easton Rieger. The Thunderbirds regained the lead with a pair of runs in the third. An Easton Linnens RBI single made it 3-2, which was followed by a 2-run single by Cruz Kaiser. Circle responded in the fourth, getting an RBI single, a 2-run double, and scoring on an error, making it 7-4. Andale/Garden Plain got two back in the fifth on an RBI single by Nolan Pfannenstiel and an RBI groundout from Noah Stanley. Pfannenstiel tied the game at 7 in the sixth with an RBI single. Circle took the lead in the seventh before Andale/Garden Plain tied the game on an RBI single by Kaiser and scored the game-winning run on an error.
Blake Winter was the winning pitcher in relief, going 3 ⅓ innings, allowing two runs on three hits and four strikeouts. Linnens went for 3-for-4 at the plate, while Kaiser went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
McPherson 8, Andale/Garden Plain 3
The Bullpups took an early 2-0 lead on Andale/Garden Plain in the first on a 2-run groundout by Cru Buchman. Pfannenstiel cut the deficit in half in the second on an RBI single. A McPherson error in the fourth scored two, making it 3-2. The Bullpups responded right away, taking the lead on a 2-run double by Carter Bengtson, an RBI single by Cowen Huggard, and a 2-run single by Buchman. Buchman made it 8-3 in the sixth with an RBI single.
Jamey Joplin took the loss on the mound, going four innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and striking out one. Pfannnenstiel went 3-for-3 at the plate.
Andale/Garden Plain finishes the season with a 16-12 record. Andale/Garden Plain graduates Keehn, Caden Fowler, Linnens, Elijah Durham, and Greyson Winter. Keehn, Fowler, Linnens and Durham will continue their baseball careers in college. Keehn will head to Butler Community College, Durham, to Hesston College, and Fowler and Linnens to Friends University.
