WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 22, 2017) --
Zach Girrens struck out eight over seven innings as the Mules beat Northeastern State 7-2 in the series opener on Saturday night at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. The Mules are now 27-12 overall and 18-9 in MIAA play.
Northeastern State (19-19, 13-14 MIAA) jumped on top in the second inning on Chad Reibenspies' lead off home run. The Mules tied the game in the bottom of the third thanks to a pair of NSU errors on one play.
Blake Wilfong singled and during the ensuing at-bat he stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher. The ball bounced in to right field and was misplayed by the rightfielder, allowing Wilfong to come home with the game-tying run.
UCM took the lead in the fourth on
Justin Graff-Rowe's RBI single.
Collin Nevil doubled off the wall in left to lead off the inning, before coming home on Graff-Rowe's single. The Mules plated two more runs in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead.
Travis Able had an RBI double to left and he came home on
Travis Stroup's RBI single to right.
Jordan Payne homered in the sixth inning to pull the RiverHawks within 4-2, but they would get no closer. Nevil's sac fly in the seventh gave the Mules a 5-2 lead and RBI singles from
Cole Distler and Able in the eighth made it 7-2.
That was more than enough for Girrens (5-0) who struck out eight over seven innings while allowing just five hits to earn the win.
Luke Mercer tossed the final two innings not allowing a hit out of the bullpen.
Hunter Neal (4-4) took the loss for Northeastern State after giving up five runs on nine hits over seven innings.
Able finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored while Graff-Rowe had three hits and an RBI. Distler and Wilfong also had two hits on the day. The win was number 27 of the season for the Mules and number 100 for head coach
Kyle Crookes in his third season leading the program.
The series continues on Sunday with a 3 p.m. first pitch.
