ANDALE, Kan. – The McPherson High School varsity baseball team saw their first full game in a pitching duel in game one at Andale, beating Andale/Garden Plain 1-0 in game one before blowing out Andale in four innings 23-0 in game two.
GAME ONE: W 1-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| McPherson: | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Andale/GP: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
The story was McPherson’s Carter Allen vs. Andale’s Patrick Keehn, as both starting pitchers had amazing days on the mound. Allen did commit two errors in the first two innings, but turned it around keeping runners at bay and leaving eight Andale runners on base. There were multiple instances where Andale had multiple runners on base, but did not score.
The highlight of the game was in the bottom of the 7th inning with one out. Andale had the represented tying runner on second base. Easton Linnens delivered a base hit to right field, but Isaac Barnett grabbed the ball after it bounced off of his leg and threw a perfect 200-foot throw to catcher Cowen Huggard, who tagged out Cruz Kaiser to keep it a 1-0 Bullpup lead. When the at-bat ended, Allen had already pitched over the 105-pitch cap. Head coach Heath Gerstner called on Brenden Doile in the team’s first save opportunity, and he delivered with the final at-bat of the game ending in a ground out.
The McPherson Bullpup varsity baseball team (@BullPupBaseball) is still undefeated at 10-0.
Andale had a chance to tie game one in the 7th as McPherson led 1-0. A single brought home the tying run, but Isaac Barnett (@Isaac10_3_5) threw a rope from right field to get him out. pic.twitter.com/IljlrP7DMR
— Lane Gillespie (@LaneGillPxP) April 8, 2025
Allen also delivered offensively and was the only run of game one. He hit 2-3 with two doubles. Brock Richardson, who was named by Amyosport as the 4A Player of the Week after hitting 10-13 with 13 RBI’s against Winfield and Chanute, drove home the run in the first inning.
Andale’s Keehn threw the full seven innings, striking out four batters and allowing only four hits and one walk.
Batting: C. Bengtson: 1-3 | B. Seidl: 0-3 | C. Allen: 2-3, 2 2B, R | B. Richardson: 1-3, RBI | C. Strathman: 0-3 | I. Razak: 0-3 | C. Huggard: 0-3 | I. Barnett: 0-2, BB | B. Doile: 0-3.
Pitching: C. Allen (W, 3-0) – 6.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K | B. Doile (S, 1) – 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
GAME TWO: W 23-0 (4 Inn.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| McPherson: | 3 | 8 | 1 | 11 | x | x | x | 23 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Andale/GP: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | x | x | 0 | 3 | 5 |
The Bullpups took the confidence from the game one victory into game two, starting offensively with a tremendous start with an 11-0 lead after two innings. After only getting one run in the third, McPherson capitalized on some Andale mistakes and free passes with an 11-run fourth inning, their highest scoring inning of the season so far.
Cade Strathman got the start for McPherson on the mound allowing just three hits and two walks for his second win of the season. Cowen Huggard slammed the door in the fourth inning, securing the sweep and putting the Bullpups at 10-0 on the season.
Batting: C. Bengtson: 3-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB, 4 R | B. Seidl: 1-2, BB, 2 SB, 3 R / T. Linn: 1-1, 2 RBI, 2 R | C. Allen: 0-1, BB, RBI, R / B. Barkley: 1-2, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 2 R | B. Richardson: 2-4, 3 RBI, 3 R | C. Strathman: 0-2, RBI, 2 BB, SB, R | I. Razak: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 SB, R / L. Beede: 0-1 | C. Huggard: 1-3, RBI, 2 R | I. Barnett: 0-0, 2 BB, 2 HBP, RBI, 2 R | B. Doile: 1-3, RBI, BB, 2 R
Pitching: C. Strathman (W, 2-0) – 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K | C. Huggard – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
The Bullpups are 10-0 on the season. They’ll look to stay unbeaten Friday, April 11 with a home doubleheader against Circle. Game one will begin at 4:00 p.m. Both games will broadcast on 98.9/1540 KMCP.
