WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Carter Young hit a two-out, walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift No. 4-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball to a thrilling 13-11 win over the Fort Hays State Tigers in the 2023 regular season finale Sunday afternoon, April 30, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
With the victory, Central Missouri clinches the 2023 MIAA Regular Season Baseball Championship outright and finishes the regular season with an overall record of 36-13 and a MIAA mark of 27-6. The regular season title it the fourth straight and 29th overall for Mules baseball.
Trailing 11-10 going into the bottom of the ninth inning,
Isaiah Pani hit a lead-off, infield single to shortstop before
Max Holy was hit by a Fort Hays State pitch, placing runners on first and second with nobody out. The Tigers were able to get a fly-out and strikeout for two quick outs, bringing Young to the plate. Down to his last strike, Young crushed a 2-2 pitch over the left-centerfield fence, securing the walk-off win for the Mules. It was Young's team-high 16th homer of the season.
John Prudhom went 3-for-5 with his team-high 16th home run of 2023 and three RBI, while
Vance Tobol was 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of runs driven in. Young drove in three runs with his game-winning round-tripper,
Mason Lowe hit his second home run of the season, and Pani tallied two hits, rounding out the Central Missouri leaders at the plate in the victory.
UCM right-handed reliever
JD McReynolds (4-0) picked up the win on the mound after allowing one earned run on one hit with one strikeout and one walk in the top of the ninth inning.
Ed Scott went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI, leading the Tigers (20-30, 10-23 MIAA) in the batter's box.
Fort Hays State reliever Emile Boies (0-1) suffered the loss on the rubber after giving up three earned runs on two hits with one strikeout in one inning.
The Mules will be the number one seed in the MIAA Baseball Championship and will host No. 8-seeded Rogers State in a best-of-three first round series May 5-7 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg. First pitch times are 6 p.m. Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 7 (if necessary).
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