McPHERSON, Kan. – The McPherson High School Baseball team punched their ticket to the State Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years, shutting out Buhler in the semifinal 7-0 before coming from behind to beat Andale-Garden Plain 8-3.
SEMIFINAL
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| Buhler: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| McPherson: | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | X | 7 | 5 | 0 |
The semifinal matchup saw McPherson shut out Buhler 7-0, thanks to a complete-game shutout by Cru Buchman on the mound. In seven innings, Buchman gave up just four hits and three walks, striking out six batters in 97 total pitches.
The early parts of the game did not see much offense. McPherson did strike first, putting up two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but were due to two walks and two Buhler errors. After two scoreless frames, McPherson started to pull away with a two-run fourth inning off of a two-run single by Takoda Linn. McPherson added a run int he fifth after a Strathman double, sacrifice bunt, and sacrifice fly. Two more runs in the sixth help seal the game, giving McPherson the win.
Linn had a multi-hit performance at the plate, hitting 2-3 with two RBI’s. Brady Rinker, Cowen Huggard, and Cru Buchman delivered the other three RBI’s on the team. The Bullpups drew eight walks, striking out just five times.
FINAL
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| Andale-GP: | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | ||
| McPherson: | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | X | 8 | 12 | 2 |
McPherson was able to fight off a 3-2 deficit in the fourth inning, using a five-run frame to take the lead for good to defeat Andale in the Regional Final 8-3.
During the sixth inning, McPherson broke the school record for most strikeouts pitched, occurring on Cade Strathman’s 7th strikeout of the game. McPherson’s pitchers have now thrown a combined 201 strikeouts on the season, breaking the 2025 team’s record of 199.
McPherson struck first with a two-run opening frame, much like in the first matchup of the day, only this time thanks to four hits in the inning, though three of which were bunt singles. Andale bounced back with a one-run second inning in a Nolan Pfannenstiel RBI single. The Indians went on to take the lead in the fourth inning, capitalizing on a hit-by-pitch and an error, scoring two runs on a Greyson Winter single.
The Bullpups opened the floodgates in the bottom of the fourth inning, putting up five runs on six hits, four of which with two outs. McPherson loaded the bases to lead off the inning, before Carter Bengtson hit a two-run double to give McPherson the lead, 4-3. The Bullpups faced two outs after a baserunner was tagged out and a strikeout, but they went on to have four straight hits following. It began with an RBI single by Cowen Huggard, before Cade Strathman and Graham Prescott capitalized on hits to load the bases. Buchman then drove home two runs on a single to left field, giving McPherson a 7-3 advantage.
Strathman settled back in on the mound, throwing two straight scoreless frames and ending his day with seven strikeouts in six innings. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Strathman reached on a hit-by-pitch and eventually scored on a two-out hit by Buchman, which was his fourth RBI of the game. Colt Chapman threw the final inning, striking out the last batter to secure McPherson’s fourth Regional title in the last five seasons.
Bengtson led the McPherson offense hitting 3-4 in the game, with two RBI’s. Huggard, Prescott, and Buchman each had two hits as well.
McPherson will await their fate for the State Quarterfinal. The Bullpups will play on Monday, May 25, but their opponent, location, and start time will be determined once all Regional tournaments have concluded.
