The Basics

Game 1: Evangel 5, McPherson 6 (10 inn.) | Box Score

Game 2: Evangel 4, McPherson 7 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (2-11, 0-5), McPherson (9-7, 4-1)

Location: Ozark, Mo. (Ozark Mountain Sports Complex)

OZARK, Mo. – After a pair of days of rescheduling games, Valor Baseball returned to the field on Sunday (Feb. 23) evening, hosting the McPherson Bulldogs in Ozark, Missouri for a doubleheader of a three game series.

Evangel fought hard and was able to drive in a game tying run in the ninth inning of play of game one, but ultimately fell an inning later in extras, 6-5. In game two, the Valor led early, but a big fifth inning from the Bulldogs offense hurt Evangel's chances, falling 7-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Evangel continued their streak of games of scoring in the first inning in game one, scoring a pair of runs after Shane Poe singled and scored on a Matthew Olson double. Olson would score on a Clay Palen single and throwing error by the first baseman, giving EU a 2-0 lead.

• McPherson took the lead in the third inning, scoring three consecutive runs to make it a 3-2 ballgame.

• The Valor scored the game tying run in the fifth inning on an error.

• McPherson scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-3 lead over EU.

• In the bottom of the ninth, Evangel trailed by two runs, but Quentin Edwards opened the inning with a single and ultimately scored on a Heath Perry groundout, making it a 5-4 game. With TJ Newman at third base, who came in to run for Clay Palen who walked, Cole Leonhart came up to bat as Evangel's last chance. Leonhart battled in the at-bat and came through hitting a single to score Newman and tie the game up at 5-5 and force extras.

• In the top of the tenth, it appeared that the Valor had earned the first out on a nice diving play from Heath Perry, but the umpire ruled that the ball had hit the ground prior to the play being made. Ultimately, the run would come around to score, giving McPherson a 6-5 lead. With runners at second and third, McPherson would hit a deep fly ball to straight away center field that Evan Baptiste made an impressive diving catch on and EU would double up the runner after he failed to tag up at third base. Carson Dobberstein struck out the Bulldogs batter for the final out in the tenth.

• Evangel could not generate any additional offense in the tenth, ultimately falling 6-5.

• The Valor again scored in the first inning after Poe walked and scored on an Edwards single to right center. Baptiste was hit by a pitch in the inning and scored the second run of the inning for EU on a Palen sacrifice fly.

• Evangel would be held scoreless while McPherson scored seven consecutive runs to take a 7-2 lead over EU.

• EU opened the bottom of the sixth with an Edwards triple and Perry singled to score Edwards, making it a 7-3 ballgame. Perry scored on a passed ball to draw the Valor within three runs and with Jeremiah Leaming and Newman on base, Poe came up to bat representing the game tying run. Poe drove a ball to deep left field, but the ball came up short of going the distance, as the left fielder made the play to end the inning.

• The Valor once again got a pair of runners on base in the seventh and had the game tying run at the plate twice, but could not come through, falling 7-4 in game two.

NOTABLE

• Quentin Edwards led EU at the plate, going 6-8 with three runs and an RBI.

• Heath Perry recorded a pair of RBIs in the losses.

• The Evangel pitching staff struck out 13 batters on Sunday, but the Valor offense struck out 20 times throughout the two games.

NEXT UP

Evangel Baseball hosts the McPherson Bulldogs for their final game of the series at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow (Feb. 24) evening at the Ozark Mountain Sports Complex in Ozark, Missouri.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.