ANDOVER, Kan. – McPherson High School concluded its season-opening doubleheader against Valley Center at Andover High School on Tuesday, March 24, sweeping the Hornets to start the season 2-0.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE
The first game began on Monday, March 23, at Valley Center, but the game was suspended due to unsafe playing conditions in the fourth inning. The game resumed on Tuesday at Andover, ending with a 10-7 win for the Bullpups in game one.
McPherson trailed 5-1 entering the fourth inning on Monday. The Bullpups scored a run with some momentum in their favor when Monday’s matchup was suspended. The game resumed on Tuesday, where the Bullpups picked back up where they left off, bringing the score within one run, 5-4.
McPherson brought in Brady Rinker to pitch starting in the bottom of the 4th, where Valley Center answered back with a solo home run by Gracen Roths, making the score 6-4. The Bullpups tied the game again in the 5th inning, but Valley Center took the lead back, 7-6. The sixth inning was the strongest for McPherson on offense, scoring four runs to run away with the 10-7 win.
Rinker got the win on the mound in his first varsity pitching appearance, throwing four innings, allowing two runs, and striking out three batters. Offensively, McPherson had nine hits and drew seven walks, led by Carter Bengtson and Nolan Pearcy, each going 2-3. Adrian Unruh had a team-high 2 RBI’s, despite hitting 0-2.
McPherson used the momentum going into game two, where they won 10-8. They struck first with two runs in the first inning, before giving up three runs right after. After a scoreless second, the Bullpups put up five runs in the 3rd inning on four hits, thanks to the offensive effort by guys like Takoda Linn and Cowen Huggard, who each hit 3-4. Linn was a home run shy of the cycle, while Huggard had two doubles.
McPherson put up insurance in the 5th with three runs to lead 10-3, which was also thanks to Bengtson pitching in relief, retiring his first seven batters and ending with five strikeouts. Valley Center stormed back to bring themselves back into the game. The Hornets scored five runs and had the tying run on base, but Adrian Unruh finished the game on the mound to give the Bullpups the win.
Cade Strathman got the win on the mound, pitching the first four innings, allowing three runs (just one earned), and striking out five batters.
McPherson is 2-0 on the season. They will travel to Augusta for their AVCTL-3 opener on Thursday, March 26. Game one will begin at 4:00 p.m. Game two will follow.
Ad Astra Radio will broadcast the games live on Sports 1 Radio, which can be heard online at adastraradio.com and the Ad Astra Radio app, as 98.9/1540 KMCP will broadcast coverage of March Madness.
