Late Hitting Lifts Pilots Past the Bulldogs of McPherson
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
LSU Shreveport | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
|
McPherson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Shreveport, Louisiana--- The Pilots live to see another die as a nerve-racking extra inning led the Pilots to a 6-4 victory over the Bulldogs of McPherson. With the win, the Pilots improve their overall record to 45-9.
The Pilots and Bulldogs battled at the plate for the first two innings as the teams were locked in a pitcher's duel. The Pilots were the first to convert any runs. Christian Webb hit a single to open the third inning, where Zeke Maldonado took over on the bases. Trevor Burkhart joined Maldonado via a hit by pitch and Josh Gibson followed up with a walk. Ryan Major came to the plate and reached on a fielder's choice scoring Maldonado before getting caught in a pickle and drawing the play away for Burkhart to score. The Pilots score single runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 4-0 lead as Carlos Pineyro flew out to score Vantrel Reed and Burkhart scored on a wild pitch.
Cameron Prayer led the Pilots on the mound for six scoreless innings before getting the first two outs of the seventh as well. Prayer collected six strikeouts while at the helm, scattering five hits. The Bulldogs were able to pull the shutout away however as a couple errors led to a three-run inning for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs added a fourth run in the bottom of the eighth on a solo homerun to tie the game at four. The Pilots and Bulldogs duked it out in the ninth, but neither side could convert, and the game went into extra innings.
With tensions high, the Pilots sent Burkhart back to the plate as the lead off in the tenth. Burkhart singled to the right side before Josh Gibson singled to third base. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch putting two in scoring position. Major brought Burkhart home with a sacrifice fly, breaking the tie. Reed tacked on another run for the Pilots as he brought Gibson home. The Pilots went out in the ninth and with Gage Bihm on the mound, the Pilots ended the Bulldogs' season, 6-4.
The Pilots will be back in action Wednesday May 17th as they take on the Mustangs of Morningside in an elimination game. First pitch is set for 11:00am CT from Pilot Field in Shreveport, Louisiana.
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