OTTAWA, Kan. – The (22) Ottawa University baseball team fell 13-12 to McPherson College on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Park. The Braves trailed by five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning but were unable to complete the comeback.
Ottawa took the lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Brian Parry hit an infield single and then advanced to second when
Julius Ryan was hit by a pitch.
Dylan Garcia's sacrifice bunt moved Parry and Ryan into scoring position.
Cole Broughton's single to right scored both, giving OU a 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs cut into the Brave lead with a run in the top of the second, 2-1. After a scoreless third inning, McPherson pushed seven runs across home plate in the top of the fourth, taking an 8-2 lead over the Braves. MC scored one more run in the top of the fifth, increasing its lead to 9-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, Ottawa cut into the Bulldog lead.
Jeremy Freeman, Jr. hit a home run to right center, cutting the deficit to 9-3. McPherson scored another run in the top of the sixth to take a 10-3 lead over the Braves.
Ottawa earned that run back in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs,
Jackson Alaniz singled to left and
Donald Rhyne entered the game as a courtesy runner.
Shaun Gomez, Jr. was hit by a pitch, giving OU runners on first and second. The pair stole third and second to give OU both runners in scoring position. Rhyne was able to score on an error by the McPherson pitcher and OU trailed 10-4.
The Braves continued to chip away at the McPherson lead. In the bottom of the seventh Freeman scored on a wild pitch and the Braves were within 10-5.
OU pushed three more runs across home plate in the bottom of the eighth. Gomez walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Anthony Soria scored him with a triple to right and OU was down 10-6. Soria cross home plate on a wild pitch, cutting the Bulldog lead to 10-7. Freeman walked and stole second. Parry's single to right-center scored Freeman to put OU within 10-8.
In the top of the ninth, McPherson scored three insurance runs to increase their lead to 13-8. Ottawa tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth. Broughton singled to right and then scored on a home run to left-center by Alaniz and the Braves were down 13-10. Gomez doubled down the left field line and moved to third with a ground out by
Jaquavius Davis. Soria scored Gomez with a single to left and OU trailed 13-11. Freeman followed that with a single up the middle, moving Soria to third to give OU runners on the corners. After a McPherson pitching change, Parry scored Soria with a ground out and Ottawa was down 13-12. The Braves were unable to score Freeman to tie the game and McPherson took the 13-12 victory.
Inside the Box Score
Who is Next
Ottawa (20-4, 11-2) returns to the diamond on Friday, March 14 at Alumni Park against the University of Saint Mary. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
