Box Score TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (April 22, 2016) -- Down 8-3 in the eighth inning, the 12th-ranked Mules forged a furious rally to beat Northeastern State 10-8 in the series opener on Friday afternoon. UCM scored seven runs in the top of the eighth inning to complete the comeback.
Northeastern State (21-18, 15-14 MIAA) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on the Mules (27-10, 25-5 MIAA) with a pair of runs in the second inning. Michael Rhea and Justin Burgess each had RBI doubles in the frame.
UCM got on the board in the third when
Jackson Schnurbusch belted a solo home run to right leading off. UCM tied the game in the fourth on
Matt Safranek's sacrifice fly, but Eric Kirkpatrick's two-run single in the home half of the inning gave the RiverHawks a 4-2 lead.
Dylan Farrell's RBI single scored
Matt Elliott in the fifth to make it 4-3, but NSU tacked on two more runs in the home half to lead 6-3. Zane Takhar had an RBI groundout and Burgess added another RBI double. The lead grew to 8-3 in the sixth on RBI singles from Charles Sims and Takhar.
The Mules started their rally in the top of the eight.
Bennett Oliver got things going with a two-run home run to pull UCM within 8-5.
Cole Distler hit the second of three two-run home runs in the inning to make it 8-7. Following a
Collin Nevil walk,
Matt Elliott roped an RBI triple to tie the game 8-8.
Dylan Farrell made it 10-8 Mules with a two-run shot of his own.
Tayler Ross (1-0) earned the win in relief for the Mules. He allowed two unearned runs on four hits in two innings of work.
Lucas Williams pitched a perfect eighth inning and
Grant Gavin pitched a perfect ninth, with two strikeouts, to pick up his eighth save of the season. He is now tied for sixth on the UCM single-season saves list and ninth on the career list with 11.
Zack Hammock (4-2) took the loss for Northeastern State after allowing six runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings of relief.
Farrell and Oliver finished with three hits apiece, while Farrell drove in three and Oliver two. Elliott,
Derek Cornell and Distler all had two hits apiece as well.
The series continues on Saturday with first pitch coming at 2 p.m. at Rousey Field on the NSU campus.
