McPherson, KAN. - After York and McPherson split the Friday doubleheader there was a lot riding on the Sunday afternoon matchup for seeding purposes for the KCAC tournament. McPherson needed the win to be the No. 2 seed in the tournament and push York into the fourth spot in the seeding. With a Panther win, York would secure the No. 3 seed while McPherson would slide down to the No. 4 seed. That meant both teams would face off again the in the first round of the KCAC tournament on Wednesday, May 1.
Even though seeding was a big implication in this game the Panthers were playing for a little bit more; head coach Brian Walth's chance of hitting win number 200. His team didn't make him wait any longer as they took the series with a 6-3 win.
The Bulldogs scored first in the second inning on a two-out double scored the first run of the ball game. York tied things up in the third inning though as Vincent Valentine (SR/Folsom, Calif.) led off with a double to left-center. Lawyer Braun (SR/Federal Way, Wash.) would add an RBI to his resume scoring Valentine from third on a sacrifice fly.
York would go ahead in the fifth inning thanks again to Valentine as he led off with a solo home run to left. Freddy Tlatenchi (FR/Omaha, Neb.) reached on an infield single before Braun doubled to score Tlatenchi.
The Panthers padded their lead scoring three more runs in the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh two runs came across thanks to a couple of Bulldog errors. In the eighth inning Travis Turner (SR/Selah, Wash.) sent a solo shot over the left field fence to put York up 6-1.
McPherson scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning before Clay Lube (SR/Lincoln. Neb.) closed out the game. He earned the save while Garrett Ewing (JR/Liberty, Mo.) earned his first collegiate win as he went four innings. Ewing didn't allow a run in the ball game.
Valentine led the Panthers from the plate going 3-for-4. Ethan Lanz (SO/Littleton, Colo.) was the only other Panther to record a multi-hit game going 2-for-5.
The Panthers finish the regular season with a 26-19 record. York will travel to Great Bend, Kansas to compete in the KCAC tournament May 1-4. York will face McPherson on Wednesday, May 1, with a 7:00 p.m. start time.
Brian Walth is in his sixth year as the head coach and currently has an overall record of 200-129.
