Wichita, Kan. - Falcons baseball resumed the three game set against McPherson Saturday (Mar. 7) with a doubleheader to see who would ultimately take the series. In game one Friends went down 12-2 losing in seven innings due to a run rule. In game two it was quite opposite, the Falcons would shut out the Bulldogs winning 1-0 for their 2nd shutout of the season.

Game 1

Bulldogs would jump out with an early lead in game one. They would grab four runs in the 1st inning to put the pressure on the Falcons. An RBI single from Colt Uphold and RBI double from Austin Easter were the two big hits that gave McPherson the early 4-0 lead.

McPherson would grab two more runs in the 2nd and 4th inning. Two solo home runs from Jared Kramp and Conner Baker brought the Bulldog lead up to six. 

The Falcons would try to climb back in the 4th inning, Holden Sabor would grab an RBI from a ground out and a Camden Miller infield single would score Hudson Sharp to make it 6-2 McPherson. 

However, the pitching performance from McPherson's Kadin Gehring would only allow those two runs in the 4th. Gehring would throw a complete game due to the run-rule, throwing seven innings and striking out five. McPherson would grab six more runs to bring the deficit to 10 as they would go on to win 12-2. 

Friends was able to get seven hits in game one, but none very timely for others to score runs. The Bulldogs would tie the weekend series and look forward to the rubber match in game two.

Game 2

There was a lot less scoring in this bout as there were only six total hits from both teams. Friends would have four of those hits, the small ball identity for the Falcons this season has been critical for them to win these tight games. Making contact and going from station to station has been a recipe for success for this year's offense. 

The only run this game would come from Camden Miller's bat in the 3rd. Miller grounded out, but the speedy Xavier Champ would score on the throw over to first. 

The Falcon pitching staff was the reason for this 1-0 shutout win to take the series. Jackson Walls would get the start for Friends in this game and he performed very well only giving up two hits to McPherson and also striking out four batters. Seve Sissac came in the 6th and went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts.

Preston Lewis came in for yet another save opportunity for the Falcons in game two. Lewis would have a little trouble finding the zone, allowing two walks to get runners on 1st and 2nd. This wasn't an issue for Lewis because he found a way for the McPherson batter to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game. Nearly the exact same way Friday's game ended. Lewis would earn his 3rd save of the season, truly showing that he is the high leverage option in the Falcons pitching staff.

Friends baseball (11-12) looking to get to .500 and wrap up the 9-game home stand with a game against Southwestern on Wednesday (Mar. 11) at 4:00. The game will be here in Wichita at West Side Athletic Field.