WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Cole Moore and
Michael Chrisman each homered as the Central Missouri Mules baseball team pounded out 15 hits in an 11-6 victory over the Northeastern State RiverHawks in the opening game of a three-game MIAA series Thursday, March 3, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
The Mules (9-3, 4-0 MIAA) and RiverHawks (13-4, 3-1 MIAA) are slated to play game two of the series Friday, March 4, at 4 p.m.
Moore went 3-for-4 with a homer, double and single, and drove in four runs, while
Brennen van Breusegen and
Garrett Pennington also had three hits. Chrisman and
Harrison Schnurbusch each tallied two hits, and
Karsen Reid had three RBIs, rounding out the UCM leaders at the plate.
Senior right-hander
Hunter Little (1-0) earned his first win of the season on the mound after allowing no earned runs on just one hit with two strikeouts and no walks in two innings of relief.
After falling behind early, 2-1, the Mules scored three runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to gain a 10-2 lead.
Moore belted his second home run of the season – a solo shot to right field – for the first run of the third inning before Reid delivered a two-RBI single to center which drove in Pennington and van Breusegen for runs two and three of the frame.
UCM kept its foot on the gas in the fourth. Moore doubled down the right field line, bringing in Schnurbusch and Chrisman, then van Breusegen drove in Moore with an RBI ground-out, increasing the Mule advantage to 6-2.
Central Missouri continued its offensive surge with a trio of runs in the fifth. Schnurbusch hit a double to left-center, plating
Isaiah Pani, prior to Chrisman scoring on a RiverHawk balk and Moore hitting a grounder to first to bring in Schnurbusch, pushing the UCM advantage to 10-2.
Northeastern State pulled within 10-6 with a four-run sixth inning but could get no closer.
Chrisman delivered the knock-out hit in the seventh after crushing a lead-off homer to right, his first of the season.
Matt Kaiser went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs, leading the RiverHawks offensively.
NSU starter Lee Callison (0-1) took the loss after surrendering four earned runs on seven hits with one walk and no strikeouts in three innings of work.
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