WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The second ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball team advances in the 2024 MIAA Baseball Championships defeating the Fort Hays State Tigers (25-26, 12-21 MIAA) by a final score of 14-4 (8 inn.) on Saturday, May 4, from Crane Stadium/Thompkins Field in Warrensburg.
The Mules (45-6, 29-4 MIAA) trailed 3-0 for the second consecutive game heading into the bottom of the fourth, before cutting the Tiger lead to a pair with a sacrifice fly from 2024 MIAA Player of the Year
Brennen van Breusegen. UCM took the lead for good in the fifth beginning with an
Adamo Stornello RBI single, followed by back-to-back home runs from
Carter Young and
Max Holy making it 5-3 Mules.
After Fort Hays scored a run in the top of the sixth, the home team responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning highlighted by a two-run shot from Holy and a 2-RBI single from Stornello making it 8-4 UCM.
Stornello drove in his third RBI in the seventh scoring
Chase Wilcox, before the Mules ended the contest in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI triple from
Jack Schark as Central Missouri improves to 45-6 overall including 26-2 at Crane Stadium/Thompkins Field.
2024 MIAA Pitcher of the Year
Conner Wolf (11-0) picked up the win allowing just one run on one hit in five innings of relief, while striking out six Tiger batters including back-to-back punch outs in the sixth to strand runners at second and third with only one out.
The Mules were paced offensively by Stornello who went 3-for-4 at the dish with a team-high three RBI and a run scored as seven UCM hitters recorded multi-hit games in the winning effort.
The Mules continue play in the 2024 MIAA Baseball Championships on Thursday, May 9, against the Washburn Ichabods (31-19, 21-12 MIAA) beginning at 1:00 p.m. from Al Ortolani Field in Pittsburg, Kan.
