WICHITA, Kan. – The McPherson High School Varsity Baseball team traveled to Wichita Monday, April 28 for a doubleheader against the Wichita Collegiate Spartans, but left unfinished. McPherson won game one 10-5, but game two was suspended after seven innings in a tied game due to darkness.
GAME ONE: W 10-5
McPherson set the tone on offense early against the Spartans with a 5-0 lead after three innings. The Bullpups finished the 2nd inning with two runs, thanks to a two-out triple by Brenden Doile, an RBI double by Cru Buchman, a walk to Cowen Huggard, then an RBI single from Brody Seidl. The team added three more in the 3rd after a Doile RBI single and then two runs scoring on a fielder’s choice.
Collegiate made it a ball game again in the bottom of the 3rd, putting two runs on the board thanks to a pair of doubles. McPherson didn’t give in though, putting up five runs in the 5th inning on three extra-base hits including Doile delivering a double for his third hit, Seidl driving home two on a triple, and Allen driving in Seidl in a double. Brock Richardson added an RBI as well with a single. The Spartans put up three runs in the 6th, but the deficit was too much. Doile slammed the door on the mound in the 7th inning to give McPherson the 10-5 win.
McPherson had 11 hits on the game, six of which going for extra bases. The team also drew two hits-by-pitches and five walks. Doile went 3-3 with 2 RBI’s while Seidl, Carter Allen, and Richardson each had two hits. Seidl led the team with three RBI’s.
Allen was the starting pitcher, earning the win after pitching 4.2 innings, allowing two runs, and striking out five batters.
GAME TWO: 9-9 (Suspended, 8th inning to be played May 7)
Game two was not finished before sundown in Wichita, which caused the game to be suspended due to darkness as Collegiate does not have lights installed in their baseball complex. The end of the day ended in thrilling fashion which saw multiple lead changes, but the 7th inning ended in a 9-9 tie, which causes the game to resume at a later date.
The start of the game was all Collegiate, despite McPherson leading 2-0 after the top of the 1st. The Spartans put five on the board on two hits and three walks given up by Cade Strathman. Afterwards, McPherson fought back putting up an run in each of the next two innings. During that span, Strathman found his groove on the mound, getting the next six outs in seven batters. After leading 5-4, Collegiate put two more runs on the board in the 4th to put them up 7-4.
Then came chaos.
The Bullpups put a run on the board in the 6th inning with an RBI single by Carter Allen with two outs to make it 7-5. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Collegiate had the bases loaded with no outs. The first out came on a flyout to right field, which kept the runners put. Strathman threw past the pitch cap in the next at-bat, which ended in an inning-ending double play.
McPherson had one final chance to turn it around in the 7th. After Razak was hit by a pitch, Strathman delivered a double to put the tying run in scoring position. Three pitches later, Brenden Doile smoked a double to right field to score the two runs, tying the game at 7-7. The go-ahead runner was now in scoring position. After a strikeout, Cowen Huggard stepped up to the plate. He worked the count full and on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, he hit a towering fly ball to right field, which flew over the scoreboard for a go-ahead two-run home run, putting McPherson up 9-7.
Game two last night is suspended and tied at 9 after seven innings, but boy was the 7th inning fun!
The Bullpups trailed 7-5 going into the 7th. After Brenden Doile tied the game with a two-run double, Cowen Huggard stepped up with two outs and drilled a go-ahead two-run homer! pic.twitter.com/zlO8Umi1ym
— Lane Gillespie (@LaneGillPxP) April 29, 2025
The Wichita Collegiate Spartans had their chance in the bottom of the 7th inning to try to at least tie the game. They put the first four batters on with a double and three walks. The third walk brought home a run to make it 9-8. Brenden Doile entered the mound with the bases loaded and no outs. Doile ended up striking out the first two batters, putting it in the hands of Mason Bond. Doile struck him out, but the strike was a swing at a wild pitch, which brought the tying run home without recording an out. A groundout the next play made it 9-9 through seven innings.
Sunset had already fallen in Wichita as it was nearly 8:15 p.m. CDT. The home plate umpire even told the teams that he could barely see the ball going in the strike zone anymore. This caused the umpires to come together and suspend the game. The game cannot end without a clear winner, even in suspended games.
Due to this, the athletic directors came together and ruled that the game will resume at Wichita Collegiate School Wednesday, May 7 at 5:30 p.m. Ad Astra Radio will have coverage of the conclusion of the game on 98.9/1540 KMCP.
McPherson is currently 16-3 on the season. They will head to Oklahoma for two games in Midwest City, Okla., just outside of Oklahoma City, at Carl Albert High School. The Bullpups will face Noble High School at 2:00 p.m. then will play Carl Albert soon after.
The games can be heard on 98.9/1540 KMCP, adastraradio.com, and the free Ad Astra Radio mobile app. Friday’s games are believed to be Ad Astra Radio’s first high school games broadcast outside of the state of Kansas.
Be sure to download the Ad Astra Radio app on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
