How Kaden Herbel, Colby Rice and Kyren Whitaker helped the Salina Falcons rally against McPherson

Kaden Herbel, Colby Rice and Kyren Whitaker were on the Salina Hawks in 2021 when they lost to McPherson in the Junior American Legion state championship game. 

The trio, now members of the Salina Falcons, got a chance to redeem themselves Thursday night in their opener of the Kansas Grand Slam baseball tournament. 

All three made an impact helping the Falcons come from an early three-run deficit to defeat McPherson, 6-3, at Dean Evans Stadium. 

"It's big for us," said Herbel, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI triple that tied the game at 3 in the sixth inning. "It gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow." 

The win improved the Falcons to 1-0 in Pool A of the tournament's 18-under division, while McPherson dropped to 1-1. The Falcons play two games on Friday on Field C at the Grant Sports Complex in McPherson, taking on Buhler at 2:30 p.m. and the Topeka Stogies at 4:45. 

"This was a big game, considering we've got a lot of competition coming up in the tournament," said Whitaker, who also went 1-for-3 with an RBI single, which gave the Falcons their first lead at 4-3. 

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How the Falcons stayed composed and took their time rallying

For the second consecutive game, the Falcons faced an early deficit. In game two of their doubleheader against Junction City on Tuesday night, they trailed 5-0 before getting on the scoreboard. In Thursday's game, they trailed 3-0.

It took a McPherson error in the second inning to get Connor Myers aboard, and he eventually scored on Rice's sacrifice bunt. 

Another McPherson error made it 3-2 with Brooks Richardson scoring from second after a lead-off double. 

When it mattered the most, the Falcons' bats came alive in the sixth. A one-out single by Kenyon McMillan, followed by Herbel's RBI triple switched  the momentum to the Falcons' side. With Herbel standing on third base and one out, he knew the heart of the Falcons' order could drive him home and give them the lead. 

"It felt good, because I knew we could pick up that extra run up and get more insurance," Herbel said. 

Whitaker's RBI single gave the Falcons the lead and they tacked on two more on RBI singles by Connor Myers and Garrett Aills. Whitaker said he wanted an outside pitch he could and then went after one. 

"I just took it that way and it worked and we scored and (I) got an RBI," said Whitaker.

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Colby Rice was ready to pitch if needed 

When Rice got the call to replace starter Seth Clemmer on the mound in the second inning, he knew he had to limit the damage.

And he did exactly that after Clemmer allowed three runs in the first. Rice gave up just three hits and struck out five in six innings of relief. 

"I knew it would come around eventually and get some hits and get some insurance," Rice said. 

Rice, who has been battling arm trouble recently, said he was ready for any opportunity in front of him. 

"I came out today and I felt brand new," Rice said. "My arm felt good. I felt good to go. I got on the mound every time just going at it." 

Salina Hawks drop first two games of Grand Slam 

It was a tough first two games Thursday for the Salina Hawks. 

They fell 11-4 to the Wichita Grays in their first game at Dean Evans Stadium, before falling 4-0 to McPherson at James Matson Field. 

The Hawks were down 4-0 before pulling within 4-3 after three innings against the Grays. The Grays outscored the Hawks, 7-1, over the next three innings in a game that was called after six innings due to time limit. 

Tristan Bernhardt, Grayson Pembleton and Clayton Meier each had a double for Salina. 

Against McPherson, the Hawks were limited to four hits with three of them coming from Dawson Dooley. 

The Hawks play their third game in less than 24 hours when they take on the Topeka Scrappers at 10 a.m. Friday at James Matson Field. 

Dylan Sherwood has been a sports reporter for the Salina Journal since August 2019. He can be reached at dsherwood@salina.com or on Twitter @DSherwoodSJ