By Matt Browning

The McPherson baseball team was chosen the Visit Wichita Team of the Month for May. The Bullpups have sat near the top of Class 5A for the entire season and have south central Kansas wins over Andale, Circle and Winfield.

“We did return a lot of players from our 2021 team as that team only had one senior,” coach Heath Gerstner said. “However, each year is so much different. I knew we would have some bumps and have some lessons to learn along the journey and frankly still have a lot of baseball left.”

McPherson has leaned on its pitching and defense this season, as the Bullpups have allowed 3.1 runs per game. Jaret Myers carries an ERA of 0.89, while Hunter Alvord has an ERA of 1.24.

“We have done a great job of attacking hitters and then our defense has made the plays needed to keep us in all games,” Gerstner said.

The postseason is always a hurdle for teams to overcome and McPherson is no different. Gerstner said the current format even adds more pressure to his team.

“If we can throw strikes, play great defense, and have some timely hitting then we always have a chance,” Gerstner said. “We haven’t been to a state tournament since 2015 so these kids are just trying to make it back and then see if we can do some damage.”