FORT SMITH, Ark. – Fourth-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball crushed six home runs enroute to a 14-3 win over the Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions in the opening game of a three-game MIAA series Friday afternoon, March 7, at Crowder Field.
The Mules (12-3, 6-1 MIAA) and Lions (7-10, 2-5 MIAA) are scheduled to play game two of the series at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 8, in Fort Smith.
Central Missouri trailed 1-0 before a three-run top of the third inning.
Isaiah Keller belted his first home run of the season, a solo shot to left field, to tie the game, 1-1, before
Chase Heath crushed his second home run of 2025, a two-run round-tripper to left-center, giving UCM the 3-1 advantage.
Arkansas- Fort Smith tied the game, 3-3, in the bottom-half of the third after a two-run homer from Nico Patrick, and the game remained in a stalemate until the top of the eighth inning, when the Mules plated four runs to go up, 7-3.
Dayvin Johnson belted an RBI double to right-center, scoring Heath for the go-ahead run, prior to
Vance Tobol hitting a three-run home run, for the final three runs of the eighth.
UCM put the pedal to the metal in the top of the ninth, scoring seven runs for the eventual 14-3 victory.
Cole Funkhouser opened the scoring with an RBI single to center field, bringing in
Austin Buie, before Heath hit the first pitch, he saw over the left field wall for a three-run homer, his second of the game and third of the season, for runs two through four of the ninth. Johnson hit a solo round-tripper to right field, his second home run of 2025, then Tobol crushed his second homer of the game and team-best sixth of the season on a solo shot to right field for UCM's fifth and sixth runs of the inning.
Chase Wilcox crossed home plate on an Arkansas-Fort Smith error for the seventh and final run of the inning.
Jacob Steele went 4-for-5 with two runs and a double, Heath was 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs and four RBI, Tobol was 3-for-5 with two runs, two homers and four RBI, Johnson was 2-for-5 with a homer, double, two runs and two RBI, and Wilcox was 2-for-4, pacing the Mules at the plate in the win.
Central Missouri reliever
JD McReynolds (2-0) earned the win on the mound, throwing two hitless and scoreless innings with six strikeouts and just one walk on 32 pitches.
Patrick was 2-for-4 with a home run and drove in two runs, leading Arkansas-Fort Smith in the batter's box.
UAFS starting pitcher Brayden Ross (1-2) suffered the setback on the mound, surrendering six earned runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in 7 1/3 innings.
Â
