JOPLIN, Mo. – Jake Wilson tossed seven strong innings and
Brennen van Breusegen had four hits as No. 18-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball held off the No. 4-ranked Missouri Southern Lions, 5-3, in the second game of a three-game MIAA series Friday, April 7, at Warren Turner Field.
With the win, the Mules (27-9, 18-4 MIAA) clinch the series victory against the Lions (28-10, 16-6 MIAA). UCM will go for the series sweep Saturday, April 8, at 1 p.m.
Wilson, a redshirt junior right-hander from Kansas City, Mo., earned the win and improved to 2-0 on the mound on the season after allowing three earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a season-high seven innings of work. Reliever
JD McReynolds tossed a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning, giving up just one hit with two strikeouts, securing his second consecutive save.
Fellow UCM reliever
Tyler Kotsis bridged the gap between Wilson and McReynolds, striking out the side in the eighth inning.
The Mules took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth after van Breusegen doubled down the left field line before scoring on
Adamo Stornello's RBI single up the middle.
Central Missouri doubled its advantage to 2-0 in the fifth when
Carter Young roped a lead-off triple to centerfield prior to crossing the plate on
Jack Schark's RBI single through the left side.
Schark made it 3-0, Mules, in the top of the seventh after belting an 0-1 pitch over the left field fence for his second home run of the season. Missouri Southern answered in the bottom-half of the inning, however, and tied the game, 3-3, on a three-run home run off the bat of Drew Davis.
The stalemate didn't last long, though, as UCM tacked on two runs in the top of the eighth, regaining the lead, 5-3.
Cole Moore drove in the go-ahead run on a lead-off solo homer to right-center, his third round-tripper of 2023, before van Breusegen smacked a double down the left field line, advanced to third on
Max Holy's sacrifice bunt, and scored on
Isaiah Pani's pinch-hit, RBI ground-out for Central Missouri's fifth run of the game.
Van Breusegen went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with three doubles and two runs scored while Schark was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI, pacing the Mules in the batter's box for the game.
Davis was 2-for-4 with a homer and three runs driven in, pacing Missouri Southern offensively.
Lions starting pitcher Cole Woods (6-2) suffered the loss on the rubber after allowing five earned runs on 10 hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts in seven innings.
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