The longest winning streak in at least eight years was accomplished this past weekend by the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat baseball team.
By sweeping four games from the McPherson College Bulldogs, the Bobcats extended their winning streak to eight games. The eight-game streak tops seven-game winning streaks in two previous seasons in the last eight years.
The Bobcats are now 8-2 on the season having won over McPherson by scores of 11-4, 18-2, 18-6, and 9-4.
The Bobcats were able to put three runs across the plate in both the first and second innings.
In the first inning,
Jonathan Castillo (Patterson, N.J.) got things going with a single and then advanced to second on a stolen base. After
Tyler Croushorn (Omaha) walked, and the first Bobcat out,
J.L. Thomason (Holt, Fla.) doubled to deep left field, bringing home Castillo.
Kyle Fredrickson (Omaha) later came up to bat and singled which led to Croushorn and Thomason scoring.
Will Scott (Defuniak Springs, Fla.) started a little rough on the mound giving up two runs in the first, but was able to control McPherson the rest of the way. After one full inning, PSC led 3-2.
Following the first out of the second inning, Castillo and Croushorn both singled and eventually scored.
Jeff Eubank (Fort Pierce, Fla.) reached on a walk and later scored on a single by
Derek Voigt (Auburn, Wash.).
Scott put McPherson down in their half of the inning, leaving the score 6-2 Bobcats at the end of two innings.
In the top of the third, the Bobcats were able to put runs across again with two outs as
Randy Santiesteban (Hialeah, Fla.) bunted and reached on a base hit. Castillo singled, Croushorn walked and Eubank doubled down the left field line scoring Santiesteban and Castillo.
McPherson was able to get two hits off Scott in the bottom of the third, but no runs.
Thomason hit a home run in the top of the fourth giving the Bobcats their only run of that inning.
Each team was scoreless in the fifth inning, leaving the score at 9-2 Bobcats after five.
In the sixth, two more runs were pushed across the plate as Thomason was able to reach on a walk and
Brenden Gentry (Sallisaw, Okla.) hit a two-run home run.
Austin Parker (Brighton, Colo.) came in to pitch the beginning of the sixth, replacing Scott. Parker allowed two hits; including a two-run home run, before
Tyler Osborn (Tilden) came in to relieve Parker. Osborn finished the inning with two strikeouts.
The seventh inning was scoreless by both teams, as Osborn struck two more batters out to finish the game.
The Bobcats finished with 12 hits, as compared to McPherson's six. Each team committed one error.
Castillo went four-for-five while Eubank, Thomason, Voigt, Gentry, and Fredrickson each drove in two runs.
Scott earned his second win of the season, throwing five innings, giving up only four hits with three strikeouts. Parker and Osborn each saw time in relief, as Osborn threw two innings, striking out four McPherson batters.
Saturday, February 25, Game 2
The Bobcats were not able to score until the second inning, but scored big with ten runs. Gentry reached on a walk, which was followed by a
Philip Lial (Las Vegas, Nev.) two-run home run.
Jonathan Arche (Miami, Fla.), Castillo and
James Welty (Omaha) each singled to leave the bases loaded for Eubank who also singled scoring Arche and Castillo.
J.L. Thomason (Holt, Fla.) then hit a three-run home run. Voigt walked, which then lead to Gentry hitting a two-run home run. Fredrickson
(Omaha) followed with a home run over the center field fence, making it 10-0 Bobcats.
Tim Crawford (Omaha) got the start on the mound for the second game of the day. McPherson was only able to get one hit throughout the first two innings.
The top of the third was not nearly as exciting as the second, as the Bobcats were only able to get two hits. Castillo and Thomason both singled for the Bobcats.
Even after hitting two batters in the bottom of the third, Crawford was able to get out of the inning without giving up any hits as McPherson left two runs on base.
Fredrickson homered in the top of the fourth. Lial followed with a single.
Jared Esquivel (Falcon Colo.) walked as a pinch hitter for Castillo. Welty singled, scoring Lial. Eubank then hit a three-run home run over the left field fence. Thomason singled, and Scott recorded his first collegiate hit with a single up the middle before the inning ended. The Bobcats lead 15-0 at the end of the inning.
Crawford shut McPherson out in the bottom of the fourth before the Bobcats were able to score two more runs in the top half of the fifth. Lial hit a double to deep center. Esquivel reached on a walk that was followed by a single by Welty to load the bases. Eubank singled to deep left-center driving in Lial and Esquivel.
The bottom of the fifth was scoreless by McPherson, as Crawford struck out one.
The top of the sixth was started by singles from Gentry,
Gio Todaro (Miami, Fla.) and
Austin Parker. The Bobcats were able to get one run across the plate before the inning ended as Gentry scored on a fielder's choice.
McPherson was finally able to score runs in the bottom of the sixth as
Ryan Grabowski (
Omaha) came in to pitch for Crawford. Grabowski was able to get two outs, but not before two runs were scored.
Lincoln Mansch (Missoula, Mont.) came in to finish the inning, getting the final out of the sixth. The score was 18-2 at the end of the sixth.
Both teams were held scoreless for the seventh inning, as the final score was 18-2.
The Bobcats finished with 18 runs on 24 hits. McPherson finished with two runs on two hits.
Welty, Eubank, Gentry, Fredrickson, and Lial each had three hits to lead PSC. Eubank drove in seven runs.
Crawford got the win for game two pushing his record to 3-0. He struck out three and did not give up any earned runs. Grabowski and Mansch saw time in relief off the mound for the Bobcats, and finished striking out five McPherson batters.
Sunday, Feb. 26, Game 1
The Bobcats exploded for six runs in the top half of the first inning. Castillo reached base on a walk and went to second when Croushorn singled to left. Eubank singled thru the hole at shortstop driving in Castillo, but Croushorn was out on the play. Eubank advanced to second on the play. Thomason doubled to deep center and drove in Eubank. Voigt grounded out to the shortstop but advanced Thomason to third. Thomason then scored on a wild pitch and Gentry was walked to get on base. Fredrickson hit a two-run home run to right field and Gentry scored. Arcia singled to shallow center. Santiestaban doubled to deep left-center, and Arcia advanced to third on the hit. Castillo came to the plate again and reached on a bobble by Zike, also scoring Arcia and advancing Santiestaban to third.
Bryan Duncan (Seattle, Wash.) got the start and held McPherson to one runner in the bottom half of the inning.
In the top of the second Eubank singled to shallow left-center. But, the Bobcats could not manage to get anything else going.
In the bottom of the second McPherson got two runs on four hits and left one on base.
In the start of the third inning Fredrickson singled to shallow right-center. Arcia singled to left and advanced Fredrickson to second. Santiestaban struck out, Castillo singled to first advancing Fredrickson to third and Arcia to second. Fredrickson scored on the throw. Croushorn singled to shallow center and on the hit Arcia advanced to third and Castillo advanced to second. Eubank singled to shallow left-center driving in Arcia and advancing the two runners. Thomason lined out to third, Voigt reached on a fielder's choice, and Croushorn was forced out. Going into the bottom of the third, the Bobcats led 8-2.
In the bottom of the third, McPherson was unable to score.
Lial started off the top of the fourth with a single to shallow right-center, and advanced to second on a passed ball. Fredrickson singled and advanced Lial to third. Arcia flew out to center but he drove Lial in from third and advanced Fredrickson to second. Santiestaban reached base on a walk, Castillo then came up and singled to first advancing the runners to second and third. Croushorn grounded out to first, but Fredrickson scored and Santiestaban advanced to third. Santiesteban scored on the throw before Castillo was tagged out to end the inning.
McPherson had no hits in the bottom of the fourth. After four the Bobcats were up 11-2.
In the top of the fifth Eubank hit a home run over the center field fence. With two outs in the inning, Lial singled to third. Fredrickson doubled to center which brought Lial in to score. Arcia was hit by a pitch, and Santiestaban was walked advancing the runners. Castillo doubled to center to score Fredrickson and Arcia, and advancing Santiestaban to third; who then scored on the throw. After a pitching change, Croushorn reached on a walk. Eubank singled to right-center advancing Castillo to third and Croushorn to second. Thomason reached base on a walk scoring Castillo, and advanced Croushorn and Eubank. On a wild pitch, the runners advanced and Croushorn scored. In the inning, the 'Cats had seven runs on five hits and led 18-2.
McPherson was able to score one in each of the fifth and six innings and then added two in the bottom of the seventh. However, it was not enough as the Bobcats won the game by a score of 18-6.
Eubank went five-for-five with two RBIs while Fredrickson went four-for-four with three RBIs to lead the hitting for Peru State.
Duncan got the win and is now 2-0 on the season. He gave up seven hits and allowed three runs in his five innings of work while striking out five.
Aubrey Dezarn (Las Vegas, Nev.) pitched two innings giving up five hits and three runs. Dezarn struck out two.
Sunday, Feb. 26, Game 2
The Bobcats were unable to get anything going in the first.
In the second, the Bobcats started to get the game moving. Voigt doubled to deep left-center, and Dezarn came back in and replaced Gentry as a designated-hitter. He singled to left advancing Voigt to third.
Gio Todaro (Miami, Fla.) pinch hit for Fredrickson and had a sacrifice fly to center scoring Voigt. Dezarn advanced to third. Arcia reached on a walk, and Arche pinch hit for Santiestaban. Arcia was caught stealing. Next, Arche singled thru the hole at shortstop scoring Dezarn. Another two outs and PSC led 2-0 going into the bottom of the second.
In the bottom of the second Lial allowed two hits and stranded both runners on base.
The top of the third started with Eubank singling to short. Eubank went to second on a ground out. Voigt doubled to right-center scoring Eubank to pick up PSC's lone run in the inning.
McPherson was able to score two runs in the bottom of the third cutting the lead to 3-2 Peru State.
Neither team scored in the fourth.
In the fifth, after two outs, Voigt singled to left. Dezarn was hit by a pitch advancing Voigt to second. Todaro singled thru the hole at second base, scoring Voigt, and advancing Dezarn to third. Arcia reached first on a fielder's choice, and Todaro was forced out at second. But, the 'Cats added a little cushion to their lead at 4-2.
McPherson could not score in the bottom of the inning and neither team scored in the sixth. Going into the seventh, the Bobcats still led 4-2.
Peru State would explode in the top of the seventh to put the game away.
Thomason was walked to start the inning. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Voigt. Dezarn singled to left and Thomason scored. Todaro singled to shallow left and Dezarn advanced to second. On a wild pitch Dezarn advanced to third, and Todaro advanced to second. Arcia doubled to deep right center bringing in Dezarn and Todaro. Arche doubled deep down the left field line scoring Arcia, and Castillo doubled to deep right-center scoring Arche. While PSC had two outs that followed, the Bobcats scored five to make it 9-2 going into the last half-inning of the game.
The 'Cats shut-out the Bulldogs in the bottom of the seventh and won by the final score of 9-2.
Voigt and Arche each went three-for-three in the game with Voigt driving in one and Arche getting two RBIs.
Lial got his first win of the year. He gave up five hits and allowed two runs in his five innings of work, and struck out four.
Tim Patterson
(Valdosta, Ga.) and
Danny Borst (Moreno Valley, Calif.) each pitched an inning of relief and each got one strikeout.
Upcoming Games
The Bobcats will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to participate in the Metrodome Classic, which features collegiate teams from all across the country, and Canada.
The 'Cats will have to set their alarms early for the March 5 games as they will be playing at 7:30 a.m. against the University of Winnipeg Wesman in a double-header.
On March 6, the Bobcats will face Mayville State (N.D.) University in a double-header scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m.
That following weekend, PSC will travel to Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan., to play two double-headers on March 10 and 11 with both days scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
