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The fifth-ranked Mules ran their winning streak to eight games with an MIAA doubleheader sweep of Lincoln on Friday afternoon at the LU Baseball Field in Jefferson City, Missouri. The Mules took the opener 10-2 and completed the sweep with an 11-1 run-rule win in seven innings in game two.
The Mules (25-5, 20-4 MIAA) scored at least one run in the first six innings of the opener. Bret Schwartz had an RBI double in the first to put UCM in front. The Mules plated three runs in the second inning to make it 4-0. Jon Cotter's RBI sacrifice bunt in the third made it 5-0.
Central Missouri added three more in the fourth to make it 8-0. John Oropeza singled home Jordan Coons to plate the first run of the inning. Chase Graskewicz added a sacrifice fly and Cotter singled home Kevin Gratza.
Single runs in the fifth and sixth innings made it 10-0. Graskewicz had an RBI single in the fifth and Coons had a sac fly in the sixth. The Blue Tigers (3-24, 3-16 MIAA) plated single runs in the sixth and the seventh, but the Mules rolled to the win.
Kurtis Schuyler improved to 5-1 with a complete game four-hit outing. He walked one and struck out seven. Taylor Klugman (0-5) took the loss for Lincoln after giving up nine runs on 15 hits in five innings.
The Mules jumped in front 1-0 in the top of the first in game two on Oropeza's sacrifice fly to center. The Blue Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the inning on Chris Pfau's RBI single.
UCM broke the game open with six runs in the top of the third to go in front 7-1. Coons had an RBI single to break the 1-all tie and Oropeza added an RBI double to make it 3-1. Albert Selanders had an RBI single, followed by a Ben Cox sacrifice fly and another RBI single off the bat of Graskewicz. Gabe Thibodeau finished off the scoring by drawing a bases-loaded walk.
The Mules plated two more runs in the fifth for a 9-1 lead. Coons had a sacrifice fly in the inning and Oropeza added his second RBI double of the game. Schwartz' run-scoring single in the sixth made it 10-1 and Oropeza led off the seventh with a home run to left to make it 11-1.
Lee Stoppelman (4-0) tossed six solid innings to earn the win. He gave up one run on six hits while striking out a career-high nine batters. Aaron Baker tossed a perfect seventh inning in relief.
Gatlin Wiggins (0-1) took the loss for the Blue Tigers after giving up seven runs on nine hits in three innings.
The Mules pounded out 31 hits in the sweep. Coons finished the day 5-for-7 with three RBI and three runs scored. Oropeza had four hits and drove in five runs, while Cotter, Graskewicz and Schwartz each had four hits on the day.
The series wraps up with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12 p.m. The start time has been moved up one hour from its originally scheduled time of 1 p.m.
