(Peru, Neb.) – It was a much-needed sweep as the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat baseball team kept their post-season playoff hopes alive on Monday.
The Bobcats swept a Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) double header from the visiting Benedictine College Ravens as they took game one 6-3 and then shutout Benedictine in the second game 9-0.
With the two wins, PSC evens its mark in the HAAC at 8-8 moving in to fourth in the Western Division of the HAAC, now ahead of Benedictine, which fell to 7-11 in the conference race. Overall, Peru State improved to 24-13 while the Ravens are now 13-22.
Game One Action
Neither team could put a run on the board until the bottom of the second when the Bobcats brought in two.
Derek Voigt (Auburn, Wash.) singled thru the hole at shortstop and went to second when
J.L. Thomason (Holt, Fla.) singled to right-center.
Brenden Gentry (Sallisaw, Okla.) laid down a sacrifice bunt and moved the runners to second and third.
Gustavo Arcia (Caracas, Venezuela) then stepped up and singled to right-center, bringing in Voigt and advancing Thomason to third.
James Welty (Omaha) followed with a sacrifice fly to center scoring Thomason. A strikeout followed, but PSC was up 2-0.
Benedictine scored their only runs of the day in the top of the third on a three-run homer to take a lead of 3-2 that would be short-lived. The 'Cats were able to put the game away in the bottom of the third inning; scoring four more runs which were also the final runs of the game.
Randy Santiesteban (Hialeah, Fla.) singled thru the hole at shortstop and advanced to second on a stolen base.
Jeff Eubank (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) singled thru the hole at second base, which also advanced Santiesteban to third.
Kyle Fredrickson (Omaha) reached base on a bobble by Benedictine, and Santiesteban scored.
Mitch Roberts (Blue Springs) comes in as a pinch runner for Fredrickson. Voigt then hit a sacrifice bunt and was put out, but Eubank and Roberts are able to advance. Thomason produced a double to shallow right-center that brought in both Eubank and Roberts. Gentry followed with another double scoring Thomason. Two outs followed, but at the end of the inning the score was 6-3, which is the final score of the game, as neither team could put any more runs on the board for the rest of the game.
Will Scott (Defuniak Springs, Fla.) pitched all seven innings, giving up six hits and three runs which were all earned. Scott struck out eight and improved to 6-3 on the year.
Thomason went three for three, while Santiesteban and Eubank each contributed two hits. Thomason also had two RBI.
GAME ONE BOX SCORE
Game Two Action
The second game was all Bobcat baseball as
Bryan Duncan (Seattle, Wash.) had a stellar performance on the mound and shutout the Ravens.
The Bobcats scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning. Gentry started things off with a single to left-center, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Arcia, advancing Gentry to second. Santiesteban then singled to left, and Gentry was able to get home to earn the only run of the inning.
The fifth inning would be the next and final opportunity for the 'Cats to rack up the rest of their runs for the game.
Eubank singled to left which was followed by Fredrickson bunting. Fredrickson reached base on a wild throw on which Eubank was able to come all the way around and score. Fredrickson went to second on the play.
Mitch Roberts (Blue Springs) entered to run for Fredrickson. Voigt then singled thru the hole at shortstop and advanced to second on the throw, which scored Roberts for the second run of the inning. Thomason also singled thru the hole at shortstop, and advanced to second on the throw, which brought Voigt home. Gentry then singled thru the hole at second and Thomason advanced to third. Arcia reached on a walk, which advanced everyone and now the bases were loaded. Santiesteban singled driving in Thomason and Gentry with Arcia advancing to second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Castillo came to the plate and hit a three-run home run to deep right-center. That ended the scoring, but after the eight-run inning, PSC led 9-0.
That ended the scoring for the game and the 'Cats got the sweep.
Bryan Duncan (Seattle, Wash.) pitched all seven innings and only gave up two hits. Duncan gave up two walks, but struck out nine Raven batters. On the year, Duncan improved to 5-2.
Eubank, Fredrickson, Gentry, and Santiesteban all contributed two hits. Santiesteban and Castillo each had 3 RBI.
GAME TWO BOX SCORE
Seniors Recognized
Between the games, 15 Bobcat seniors and their parents were recognized.
Upcoming Games
The 'Cats are back in action today (Wednesday) as they are hosting the Avila University (AU) Eagles in a make-up double header from last Saturday's rain-out. The double header was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Another double header with the Eagles has yet to be rescheduled for the Sunday games which were rained out.
Wednesday's scheduled games at Concordia University were cancelled in order to allow for other make-up dates for both teams.
This weekend, on Friday and Saturday, PSC will travel to Baldwin City, Kan., to take on the Baker University Wildcats for two double headers. The Friday games are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. while Saturday's games will begin at 2 p.m. Please note this is a change from the printed schedules.
At present, the 'Cats will travel to Bellevue University on Tuesday, April 24, to play a single game beginning at 3 p.m.
