TOPEKA, Kan. – Collin Jones tossed six strong innings and struck out three, and
Garrett Pennington drove in three runs leading fourth-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball to a 9-3 victory over the Washburn Ichabods in the opening game of a three-game MIAA series Friday, April 1, at Falley Field.
The Mules (24-3, 18-0 MIAA), who have now won 19 consecutive games, are slated to play Washburn (21-10, 12-6 MIAA) in game two of the series Saturday, April 2, at 2 p.m.
A senior right-hander from Leavenworth, Kan., Jones improved to a team-best 6-0 on the mound after giving up two earned runs while scattering five hits with no walks and three Ks on 87 total pitches in his six innings of work.
Pennington, a sophomore from Lenexa, Kan., tallied his game-high three RBIs on 2-for-4 hitting with a double while
Cole Moore added a 3-for-4 performance with two runs scored and a pair of runs batted in.
Michael Chrisman and
Donovan Ditto also had two hits in the contest, with Chrisman compiling his third triple of the season.
The game was tied, 2-2, until the Mules scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 5-2 lead – a lead they would no give up the remainder of the game. Chrisman tripled to right center to lead-off the frame before scoring on Moore's RBI single to left field. Pennington smacked an RBI single up the middle, plating Moore for the second run of the inning, and
Isaiah Pani hit a sacrifice fly to center, bringing in Ditto, for the third and final run of the inning.
Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli went 2-for-5 with a double, leading Washburn at the plate.
Ichabod starter Wyatt Hardy (1-2) suffered the setback on the rubber, surrendering four earned runs on six hits with one strikeout in three innings.
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