(Peru, Neb.) – It was a combination of good hitting and pitching that earned the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat baseball team three wins over the weekend.
The Bobcats topped Friends University 11-7, 2-1, and 13-0 in Wichita, Kan. With the three wins, PSC improved its record to 4-2 while the Falcons fell to 2-7.
Saturday, Feb. 18 Game
The Bobcats put runs on the scoreboard in both of the first two innings to take the early lead over Friends.
In the first inning,
Jonathan Castillo (Patterson, N.J.) got things started with a single to center. Castillo advanced to second with a stolen base. Following a fly ball out,
Jeff Eubank (Fort Pierce, Fla.) took the first pitch he saw over the fence for a two-run home run giving PSC a 2-0 lead. Two outs followed.
Will Scott (Defuniak Springs, Fla.) started on the mound and shut out the Falcons in the bottom of the first.
Brenden Gentry (Sallisaw, Okla.) started the Bobcat second inning with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch.
Kyle Fredrickson (Omaha) followed with a double to center and Gentry scored making it 3-0 PSC. Fredrickson was out trying to stretch it to a single for the first out of the inning.
That brought up Gus Arcia
(Caracas, Venezuela) who singled to left. Arcia advanced to second on a single by
Randy Santiesteban (Hialeah, Fla.). On a fly ball out, Arcia went to third.
Tyler Croushorn (Omaha) reached first with a walk to load the bases, forcing the Falcons to change pitchers. On the first pitch Eubank saw in the second inning, he hit a grand slam to right, giving the Bobcats a 7-0 lead at that point.
Scott put Friends down in their half of the inning. Neither team scored in the next two innings, so it was PSC 7-0 going into the top of the fifth. The only scoring for the 'Cats was a solo home run to right, again on the first pitch to Eubank – his third homer of the game, to give Peru State an eight-run cushion at 8-0.
Friends did score three in the bottom of the fifth to cut it to 8-3.
In the top of the sixth, the Bobcats were able to plate one more run. Fredrickson reached on a walk, stole second base, and then went to third on a Friends' throwing miscue. Santiesteban hit a sacrifice fly to left driving in Fredrickson putting PSC up 9-3.
After a scoreless sixth by Friends, Peru State was able to put more runs on the board in the top of the seventh. After the first out of the inning, Eubank got his fourth hit of the game as he doubled to center. Eubank went to third on a wild pitch and then
J.L. Thomason (Holt, Fla.) reached base on a Falcon bobble.
Derek Voigt (Las Vegas, Nev.) hit a sacrifice to center and Eubank scored giving PSC a 10-3 lead. Gentry came up and doubled to right and Thomason was able to score from first giving the Bobcats their 11
th run of the game and an 11-3 lead.
Friends did score one in the bottom of the seventh cutting it to 11-4. After the 'Cats did not score in the eighth, the Falcons scored three runs in the bottom of the inning getting to within four runs at 11-7.
Neither team was able to score in the ninth nor Peru State evened its season record at 2-2 with the win.
The Bobcats had ten hits and averaged .294 for the game. PSC only struck out twice, committed only one error and left three on base.
Friends had seven hits and batted .182 for the game. The Falcons committed one error, struck out nine times and left 13 runners on base.
Eubank had a career game with his four of four hitting, including the three home runs. He finished the game with seven RBIs. Six other Bobcats finished with one hit each with four of them driving in one run.
Scott started the game on the mound and claimed his first win of the year. Scott gave up just three hits, two earned runs, and struck out seven Falcon batters.
Tyler Osborn (Tilden), Ryan Grabowski (Omaha), Tim Patterson
(Valdosta, Ga.), and
Danny Borst (Moreno Valley, Calif.) all pitched in relief. Patterson and Borst each struck out one in their one-inning relief performances.
Sunday, Feb. 19 – Game 1
The second game of the series was more of a pitching duel than the first game on Saturday.
Neither team scored in the first inning, but PSC was able to manufacture a run in the top of the second inning. Following two outs, Gentry had an infield single and went to second when Fredrickson drew a walk. Both Gentry and Fredrickson advanced when
Philip Lial (Las Vegas, Nev.) walked loading the bases. Gentry eventually scored on a wild pitch giving PSC the 1-0 lead.
Three scoreless innings followed before the Bobcats would plate one in the top of the sixth. Eubank opened the inning with a double. Following an out, Voigt singled to center and Eubank scored giving the 'Cats an extra run making it 2-0.
In the bottom of the inning, Friend managed to plate one cutting the lead to 2-1 PSC.
Neither team scored in the seventh and the Bobcats got their third win in a row.
The Bobcats finished with two runs on six hits and left six on base. PSC committed no errors. The Falcons managed one run on five hits, committed one error, and left six on base.
Castillo finished the game as the leading hitter for PSC going two for four.
Bryan Duncan (Seattle, Wash.) pitched six innings for the 'Cats giving up just one earned run on five hits and got his first win of the season. Duncan struck out four.
Aubrey Dezarn (Las Vegas, Nev.) threw the final inning and earned the save. Dezarn did not give up a hit and struck out one.
Sunday, Feb. 19 – Game 2
The Bobcats started strong in both of the first two innings as they scored three runs in each to take a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the second inning.
In the first inning, the first two Bobcats went out before Eubank reached first with a walk. Thomason was then hit by a pitch moving Eubank to second. Voigt singled to left driving in Eubank and Thomason moved to second. Gentry then doubled to center driving in both Thomason and Voigt giving PSC its three runs in the inning.
After Friends went down one-two-three in the bottom of the first, the first Bobcat batter grounded out.
Jonathan Arche (Miami, Fla.) doubled to left to get things started and Castillo reached first with a walk. Following a pop-up out for the second out for the 'Cats, Eubank was hit by a pitch which loaded the bases. Thomason then singled to left and both Arche and Castillo were able to score. Voigt came up and singled driving in Eubank, but that would be the end of the scoring for PSC in the inning. However, they led 6-0 at that point.
Neither team scored in the third inning. In the fourth, PSC was able to score two more. Castillo led off with a single and went to second when
James Welty (Omaha) singled to short. Both runners went advanced on a wild pitch. Castillo scored on a sacrifice fly by Eubank. Thomason came up and reached base on a Falcon error and Welty scored. Going into the bottom of the fourth, PSC was up 8-0.
After holding Friends scoreless in the fourth, the 'Cats added two more runs in the fifth. After the first out of the inning for Peru State, Arche singled to first. Dezarn came in to pinch hit for Castillo and doubled to left with Arche advancing to third. Following another out, Eubank doubled to left with both Arche and Dezarn scoring. At the end of the top half of the fifth, the Bobcats led 10-0.
Again, the Falcons failed to score in their half of the inning and the 'Cats came to bat in the top of the sixth. Voigt started things off with a double to center. Gentry hit a single to left and Voigt went to third. On a ground out, Gentry advanced to second and Voigt stayed at third. Arcia was hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. On a Friends error, Arche reached base and Voigt scored the first Bobcat run of the inning. Dezarn then singled to right driving in Gentry. Arcia went to third on the play, but Arche was forced out at second for the second out of the inning. A wild pitch allowed Dezarn to go to second, but Arcia stayed at third. Welty then singled to center with Arcia scoring. In the inning, the Bobcats scored three to go up 13-0.
Neither team scored during the rest of the game. PSC grabbed its fourth in a row by shutting out Friends 13-0.
Peru State scored 13 runs on 14 hits and left ten on base. The Bobcats did not commit any errors in the game. The Falcons scored no runs on six hits and left six on base. Friends committed three errors.
Voigt led the Bobcats going three for three and had two RBIs. Dezarn, Welty, Gentry, and Arche each had two hits with Gentry also having two RBIs. Eubank drove in three RBIs.
Tim Crawford (Omaha) earned his second win of the season as he pitched six innings. Crawford (2-0) gave up just up four hits and struck out six.
Austin Parker (Brighton, Colo.) pitched one inning and struck out two.
Upcoming Games
A nine-inning game with Dakota State University for Monday was cancelled due to the pending rain.
On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 and 26, the Bobcats will be on the road again as they travel to McPherson, Kan., to play McPherson College in two double-headers beginning at 1 p.m. each day. The Bulldogs are presently 0-4 having dropped four games to Northwestern Oklahoma State University. McPherson is scheduled to have a doubleheader with Park University prior to playing the Bobcats this weekend.
