McPherson, Kan. – It was an electric weekend at Light Capital Stadium in McPherson as the Tigers swept the Wayland Baptist University Pioneers in a three game series. The Tigers leaned on their ability to get on base and convert runs as well as their pitching. The Tigers allowed just 10 runs on the weekend to a Pioneer offense that averages almost 7 runs per game coming into the weekend.
Friday would feature two seven inning games while Saturday would be the 9 inning series finale. The Tigers called upon Nick Julian to start game one and he did not disappoint. Julian tossed 6 innings of one run baseball where he struck out seven batters and walked just one. The lone Pioneer run came in the fourth inning where the Tigers responded with a hit then back to back doubles by Braedon Ulrich and Nico Lopez to take a 2-1 lead. That 2-1 lead would be all the Tigers needed to steal game one from the Pioneers.
Game two saw the Tigers offense get off to a quick start as an error by Wayland plated two runs in the first inning. The Pioneers would get one back in the second but that would be the end of the scoring for either team for the next few innings. The Pioneers took a 3-2 lead after a solo homerun and a sacrifice fly in the top of the 5th. In the bottom of the 6th, Derex Cancel stepped up with two runners on and hit a line drive to right center field which plated two runs to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. Nico Lopez would come in to shut the door and propelled the Tigers to a 4-3 victory and at minimum a series win as they took both games on Friday.
Saturday, the Tigers started Justin Evasovic who has been a consistent #2 starter for the Tigers this season. He would get run support early as Kurt Ippolito and Gary Ford would both hit 2-run homeruns in the bottom of the first inning for a 4-0 lead. The Pioneers would strike back for 3 runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings to cut the Tigers’ lead to one run. In the 5th inning, the Tigers would score two more runs after a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly made the score 6-3 in favor of the Tigers.
In the top of the 9th, the Tigers got into some trouble after walking a couple and allowing a two-run triple, the Pioneers tied the game at 6-6. The Tigers escaped the jam but would still need a run in the bottom of the ninth to steal the series from the Pioneers. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out, Braden Young hit a fly ball to center that would bring in the winning run. The Tigers would take the game 7-6 and sweep the Pioneers for the first time in school history.
With the sweep, the Tigers improve to 12-13 overall and 7-5 in SAC play. The Tigers travel down to Oklahoma Panhandle State University for three games on Friday and Saturday. Those games will be streamed on the SAC Sports Network and Urban Edge Network.
