WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 5, 2016) -- Derek Cornell hit a first-inning grand slam and
Ethan Westphal tossed seven shutout innings to lead the Mules to an 8-0 win over Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon. The win was the fourth straight for the Mules and improves their record to 5-6 overall and 4-1 in league play.
The Mules jumped on top quickly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first on Cornell's grand slam.
Dylan Farrell doubled down the left field line and
Jake Alexander and
Bennett Oliver were hit by pitches to load the bases for Cornell's blast.
The Mules added another run in the fourth inning on
Blake Wilfong's sacrifice fly and Cornell scored on a throwing error in the sixth to make it 6-0 in favor of UCM.
The Mules finished the scoring in the seventh when Farrell belted a two-run home run to left center, giving UCM an 8-0 advantage.
The eight runs were more than enough for Westphal (2-1), who tossed seven shutout innings for his second win of the season. He allowed just two hits in the game, a leadoff single to start the game and another single in the third. He struck out four and walked one. He has now pitched 14.0 straight scoreless innings.
Andy Muehlberger and
Ross Juliana each tossed a scoreless inning of relief.
Brandon Martinkus (1-2) took the loss for Pittsburg State after allowing five runs on four hits in four innings of work.
The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The game can be heard live on 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com with
Bob Jackson and
Ricky Rivera on the call.
