The El Dorado Post 81 American Legion team lost a heartbreaker in their first game of a Monday night twinbill against McPherson Post 24 at McDonald Stadium, and stayed with the visitors for most of the nightcap before tiredness set in.
Post 81 lost the opening game of the twinbill 8-7, and fell 13-4 in the nightcap that ended in six innings due to the run rules.
Both teams scored runs in the first inning of the opener, with Tyler Patty hitting a RBI double after Baylor Parker hit a triple in the bottom of the frame. El Dorado took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run double by Parker after Ben Helfrich and Garrett White hit two-out singles.
McPherson scored three in the top of the third inning, then forced El Dorado to hit into a double play with the bases loaded to end their half of the inning. Post 24 added four more in the fourth — with a two-out, two-run double by Scott Paramore being the key hit — to extend the Post 24 lead to 8-3.
Post 81 (1-14) cut the margin to 8-6 in the bottom on a two-run single by Ryan Gomez and a RBI sacrifice fly by Mark McNown. Helfrich hit a RBI double in the bottom of the fifth to cut the margin to one, but he was stranded on third base at the end of the frame.
L.A. Hoefer was the winning pitcher for McPherson (11-12), while Stuart Kelley suffered the decision on the mound for El Dorado.
The second game of the doubleheader was tied 1-1 after four innings with El Dorado's run coming on a RBI single by McNown.
McPherson took control of the game in the top of the fifth, scoring five runs after El Dorado got two outs off McNown. Post 24 batted around again in the sixth inning, adding seven more runs off two El Dorado relief pitchers.
El Dorado scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run double by McNown and a RBI single by White, but couldn't get the game continued to the seventh inning.
