McPherson, Kan. – The Tigers faced off against cross town rival, McPherson College in the Collegiate Cup this week. Overall, Central leads the series 3-2 with just Baseball and Softball remaining.

The Tigers were unable to push a run across in the opening frame but the Bulldogs were able to strike in the first to take a 1-0 lead. The Tigers had a chance to tie it up in the 2^nd but after a perfect throw from the outfield, the runner was cut down at home attempting to score on a single to center.

The Bulldogs used this momentum and took advantage of two walks and a hit by pitch to load the bases. The next batter then cleared the bases with a grand slam to extend the Bulldogs lead to 5-0.
In the 3^rd, the Tigers pushed two runs across on two walks and two hits, one being a loud double off the wall by Braedon Ulrich. Walks and wild pitches unfortunately became the story of the 3^rd and 4^th innings for the Tiger pitchers as McPherson was able to push 8 more runs across during these two innings after extended innings and timely hits slowly extended the Bulldogs lead. After 4 innings, it was 13-2 in favor of the Bulldogs.

The Tiger bats would go cold until the 7^th when they strung together three hits and scored 3 runs in the inning to cut the deficit to 13-5. McPherson would score 2 more runs in the bottom of the 8^th to end this one early and run rule the Tigers, 15-5.

This win for the Bulldogs ties up the Collegiate Cup at 3-3 with only Softball remaining. These games will take place at Central Christian College on April 23^rd at 3pm and 5pm. The games will be streamed on the SAC Sports Network.

The Tigers (14-23, 6-14), turn their attention to their conference series this weekend against USAO. Central welcomes the Drovers to McPherson for a three game series. First pitch is scheduled for 3pm on Friday and 12pm on Saturday. These games will also be streamed on the SAC Sports Network.