ST. CHARLES, Mo. (March 29, 2017) – For the second straight game the Mules forged a late rally, but came up short as 10th-ranked Central Missouri fell 9-7 at Lindenwood on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lions (16-13, 9-8 MIAA) scored all nine of their runs in the first four innings and led 9-3 after four before the Mules (20-8, 12-5 MIAA) rallied with four runs over the final three innings.
The Mules got on the board first, scoring a run in the top of the second to grab an early lead.
Justin Graff-Rowe led off the inning with a triple and scored on
Travis Able's single to right field to put UCM on top.
Lindenwood quickly tied the game in the home half of the inning. Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Paul Sherwood, who lifted a sacrifice fly to left to tie the score at 1-1.
The Mules went back in front in the third.
Collin Nevil singled home
Erik Webb and
Travis Stroup came in to score on a double steal that gave the Mules a 3-1 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as back-to-back doubles by the Lions leading off the third made it 3-2 and a wild pitch followed by an RBI groundout tied the game at 3-3. Two more singles and a UCM error put runners at second and third with one out and Sam Baxter followed with a sac fly to left to give LWU a 4-3 advantage.
Lindenwood scored five more runs in the fourth to open a 9-3 lead. Ryan Sosnowski was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the first run of the inning. Conor Behrens had an RBI single and Kyle Teter added a sac fly to make it 7-3. A walk loaded the bases again and Nick Paulda singled to left to bring in two more runs and give the Lions a six-run cushion.
Stroup singled home
Blake Wilfong in the top of the seventh to pull UCM a little closer at 9-4. The Mules scored two more times in the eighth to make it 9-6.
Jackson Schnurbusch singled home the first run and Wilfong add an RBI single of his own to pull the Mules within three. UCM had runners at first and second with two outs when
Erik Webb singled to right, but Schnurbusch was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Stroup led off the ninth with a double and scored on Graff-Rowe's single to center to get the Mules to within 9-7.
Cole Distler then singled and moved up to second on the throw to give UCM runners at second and third with only one out with back-to-back strikeouts ended it.
Stroup and Graff-Rowe each finished the day 3-for-5 with an extra-base hit and an RBI. Six different players drove in runs for the Mules on the day.
Nick Houston (0-1) suffered the loss for the Mules, allowing one run on three hits in one inning of relief.
Kyle Hentis (2-0) earned the win in relief for the Lions. He allowed one run on two hits over four innings of work.
The Mules are off this weekend. They'll return to action next Tuesday, April 4 when they host Lindenwood for the third game of their three-game midweek series. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg.
