WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Conner Wolf threw six innings and tallied five strikeouts leading the Central Missouri Mules baseball team to a 4-1 victory over the Northwest Missouri Bearcats in game one of a three-game MIAA series Friday, Feb. 24, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
The Mules (7-5, 1-0 MIAA) and Bearcats (2-10, 0-1 MIAA) are scheduled to play a noon doubleheader Saturday, Feb. 25, in Warrensburg to wrap up the series.
Wolf, a sophomore right-hander from Tipton, Mo., earned his first win of the season on the mound, improving to 1-2 after scattering four hits and giving up one unearned run with five Ks and two walks on 90 pitches in six innings of work. Reliever
Wyatt Clark secured his team and MIAA-best fourth save of 2023, throwing a scoreless ninth inning and allowing just one hit.
Central Missouri gained a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning when
Chase Heath hit a two out single before crossing home plate on
Carter Young's RBI single to right field for the first run of the game.
John Prudhom doubled UCM's lead to 2-0 with one swing in the bottom of the sixth inning, belting a solo home run to left field, his team-best fifth homer of 2023.
The Mules tacked on what proved to be the final two runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh when
Brennen van Breusegen smacked a two-RBI single through the left side, allowing pinch-runner
Seth Kenagy and
Jacob Steele to score.
Young, Prudhom and Steele all finished with two hits, pacing Central Missouri at the plate in the victory.
Alex Bowers went 1-for-4 with a double, pacing the Bearcats offensively in the contest.
Northwest Missouri starter Max Spitzmiller (0-4) suffered the loss on the rubber after surrendering three earned runs and one unearned run on 11 hits with three strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.
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