McPHERSON – Some say baseball is a game of numbers. There were plenty of numbers in Sunday’s game between the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes and No. 23 ranked McPherson at Bulldog Park.
Both teams combined for 381 thrown pitches, 42 hits, 38 runs, 33 players playing in the game, 25 strikeouts, 15 home runs and used nine pitchers just to name a few.
Then there’s a few obscure ones like KWU’s Haydn Brown (SR/Gardnerville, Nev.) going 4 of 5 with three homers, all of them 3-run shots, and a triple, collecting 15 total bases and 9 RBI.
With a strong south wind blowing balls left, right and center out of Bulldog Park, the Bulldogs would pull away from the Coyotes for a 24-14 win in eight innings.
Brown recorded his triple in the first inning, but the Coyotes were unable to capitalize on the timely hit. McPherson would take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the inning on a homer.
The second inning it was the Coyotes’ turn for a little 2-out rally. Dalton Whitaker (SR/Edmond, Okla.) homered with two outs to get the rally going. Reece Bishop (FR/Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Sisipako Vehikite (JR/Santa Clara, Calif.) singled and then William Dryburgh (SO/St. Joseph, Mo.) singled home a run to set up Brown’s first homer of the day putting the Coyotes up 5-3.
In the bottom of the third, McPherson used three homers, a triple and a wild pitch to score seven runs to take a 10-5 lead after three innings.
Another homer for the Bulldogs in the fourth was part of a 3-run inning for the hosts, who extended their lead to 13-5 at that point.
Josh Sandoval (SR/Glendale, Ariz.) crushed a homer in the fifth for the Coyotes, but McPherson answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the frame.
The Coyotes bounced back in the sixth. Reece Bishop led off with a single, followed by a Vehikite hit and a fielder’s choice by Dryburgh. Brown then followed with his second 3-run blast of the day. The Coyotes weren’t done yet, adding another run on Tristan Devane (FR/Frostproof, Fla.)’s double and another when Whitaker reached on an error.
McPherson added four runs back in the bottom of the sixth all on homers as the Bulldogs hit two round trippers in the inning.
In the seventh, Vehikite led off with a single and Dryburgh was hit setting up Brown to do it again, another 3-run shot.
The Bulldogs led off the seventh and eighth innings with homers and the game-ending run came on a sacrifice fly with two outs in the eighth.
Dylan Epke (FR/Wichita, Kan.) took the loss allowing eight runs, seven earned in two and a third innings. Brown’s four hits and nine RBI led the way for the Coyotes.
Wesleyan will close the regular season this weekend, hosting Southwestern on Saturday and Sunday at Dean Evans Stadium.
