McPHERSON, Kan. – To others, it may have been a normal Tuesday. For McPherson High School Baseball, it was anything but normal. It was a special night as the Bullpups swept the Buhler Crusaders to clinch a share of the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Div. 3 (AVCTL Div. 3) title on a night celebrating 10 seniors and McPherson’s youth baseball players.
GAME ONE: W 7-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| Buhler: | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| McPherson: | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | X | 7 | 5 | 1 |
The bats were quiet on game one against the Crusaders, but all nine batters got on base with five total hits while drawing seven walks and four hits-by-pitch. The loudest hit came from senior Isaac Barnett, who hit an RBI double in the 6th inning. Junior Cowen Huggard led with two RBI’s despite going 1-2.
Pitching was near-perfect as senior Logan Beede got his fourth win on his final regular-season start as a Bullpup, throwing six innings, allowing five hits, one run, one walk, and striking out one. Junior Cade Strathman slammed the door in the 7th, throwing the full inning, striking out the first two batters, and forcing a flyout on the final out of the game.
GAME TWO: W 10-0 (6 Inn.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| Buhler: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| McPherson: | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 10 | 14 | 3 |
The bats were alive and well in game two as the Bullpups eclipsed game one’s hit mark by the 3rd inning. Five different Bullpups finished with multiple hits, all of which being seniors in their final full regular season game.
Buhler started with a Cash Carson leadoff double to try to give them an early edge. However, following a groundout to keep Carson at second, a groundout to starting pitcher Ian Razak forced the baserunner to be out on rundown between second and third. The Crusaders would only get two more hits afterwards in the shutout.
Six runs in the first two innings gave Razak a much-needed cushion, even though he didn’t need one as he had been red hot in his past two starts. Razak picked up where he left off after throwing a complete-game shutout at Carl Albert and starting in a combined one-hitter Friday vs. Great Bend. The senior southpaw threw the full six innings, allowing three hits, not walking a batter, and striking out seven.
Seniors Brody Seidl and Carter Allen finished 3-4 on the night, each driving home a run. Brock Richardson and Razak contributed two hits apiece as well. Senior Isaac Barnett got on base in all five plate appearances, drawing two walks, getting hit for a school record 18th time this season, and two hits. All of which aided him to lead with 4 RBI’s in the game, including the game-ending single in the 6th with the bases loaded and two outs.
In total, the Bullpups reached on 14 hits, nine walks, four hits-by-pitch, an error, and only struck out once in game two. The run-rule victory marked their 10th run-rule win this season, but their first since April 22 and only their second since starting the season with eight straight run-rule wins.
The victory for the Bullpups clinched the share of the league title, as McPherson tied with Mulvane at 9-1 against league opponents. It is the 5th straight league title and 10th in team history for McPherson High School Baseball.
McPherson is 22-3 on the season. Their regular season concludes Wednesday, May 14 with the resumption of the suspended April 28 game at Wichita Collegiate. The game will start back up at 3:00 p.m. with the score tied 9-9 going to the top of the 8th inning. It will be the first, and only, extra-inning game for McPherson so far. If McPherson wins, they will tie the school record for the most wins in a full season.
SENIOR NIGHT
10 seniors were recognized in between games, including eight players and two managers. Seven players will play baseball at the college level.
Pictured below are the 10 seniors with their families. Listed with them are the post-secondary schools that they will attend along with which sport they will play.
Pictures are credited to Melissa Strathman.
YOUTH NIGHT
The night was also a celebration of the youth baseball players in McPherson, as many young kids and their families came out to support the Bullpups. The young players entered for free with their families if they wore their baseball jersey and also got a free t-shirt. In between games, the young kids got to meet with the varsity players and get autographs.
Picture credit: Melissa Strathman.
