OZARK, Mo. – Brennen van Breusegen and
Harrison Schnurbusch each had three hits and four RBIs, and
Jacob Steele drove in five runs as the No. 11-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball team pulverized Drury, 24-11, Wednesday, March 9, at U.S. Baseball Park.
The Mules, who won their seventh-straight game and moved to 12-3 on the season with the win, are scheduled to return to MIAA play with a three-game series against the Emporia State Hornets Sunday, March 13, and Monday, March 14, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
van Breusegen, Schnurbusch and Steele were three of 12 Mules who recorded at least one hit in the game, with UCM tallying a total of 24 hits in the contest. The 24 hits and runs scored are the most in a single game for Central Missouri since March 12, 2020, when the Mules put up 24 runs on 25 hits against Fort Hays State.
A native of Columbia, Ill., van Breusegen had three hits in a team-high seven at bats, including a double and triple, going along with his four runs driven in while Schnurbusch, who hails from Lee's Summit, Mo., tallied his trio of hits, which also included a double and triple, in five Abs and added four RBIs, pacing the Mules at the plate.
Steele tallied his game-high five RBIs on a 2-of-5 hitting performance with a triple.
Central Missouri put the game away early, putting up 10 runs in the top of the first inning to race out to a 10-0 lead.
Schnurbusch got the scoring started for the Mules with an RBI triple to right field that drove in
Carter Young before van Breusegen plated Schnurbusch on an RBI ground-out for run number two of the inning. Steele slashed a two-RBI single to right, scoring
Aiden Watson and
John Prudhom prior to
Donovan Ditto scoring after Young was hit by a pitch, making it 5-0, UCM.
Schnurbusch belted his second hit of the inning, a two-RBI single to center, which allowed
Ethan Imel and Steele to cross home plate before van Breusegen smoked a two-RBI double to left field, bringing in Schnurbusch and Young and ballooning the Mule advantage to 9-0.
Prudhom put an exclamation point on the frame, smacking an RBI single to center to drive in van Breusegen for the 10th run of the inning.
The Mules went on to score six runs in the fourth inning, three in the fifth and seventh, and two in the sixth for their 24 runs in the victory.
Josh Bortka (1-0) picked up the win on the mound for Central Missouri after giving up no earned runs on one hit with two strikeouts and no walks in an inning of relief.
DJ McNew went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and three RBIs, while Nikko Calabro homered, pacing the Panthers (13-2) offensively.
Drury starter Cade Waits (1-1) suffered the loss on the rubber, surrendering seven earned runs on four hits with one strikeout and a walk in two-thirds of an inning of work.
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