WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Jacob Steele,
Dayvin Johnson and
Isaiah Keller each homered to help lead No. 3-ranked Central Missouri Mules baseball to a 17-5, seven-inning victory over the Northeastern State RiverHawks in the opening game of a three-game MIAA series Friday evening, April 25, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
The Mules (34-9, 25-6 MIAA) and RiverHawks (13-32, 10-21 MIAA) are scheduled to play game two of the series at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in Warrensburg.
After Northeastern State gained a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Central Missouri wasted no time whatsoever answering emphatically, scoring five runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 lead.
Steele and Johnson hit back-to-back solo home runs to lead off the inning, both to left field, before
Chase Heath singled through the left side, and Keller crushed a two-run home run to right field, making it 4-1, UCM.
Grant Hollister provided the final run of the inning, plating
Vance Tobol on an RBI ground out.
The RiverHawks trimmed the lead to 5-4 with two runs in the second and one in the third, but Central Missouri pushed two runs across the plate in the fourth and fifth innings, building its advantage to 9-5.
The Mules put an exclamation point on the contest in the sixth, scoring runs to blow the game wide open, 17-5.
An RBI single from
Cole Kreisel, and two-RBI doubles off the bats of Steele and Heath led to the first four runs of the inning, before
Chase Wilcox worked a bases loaded walk to score Heath, Hollister was hit by a pitch to plate Keller and
Will Krzykowski scored Tobol on a sacrifice fly for four more runs in the frame.
Keller went 4-for-5 with his 11th homer of the season, three runs, three RBI and two stolen bases, while Steele was 3-for-4 with his ninth home run of 2025, a double, three runs, three RBI and two stolen bases, Heath was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and a pair of runs batted in, Kreisel was 3-for-4 with a run and RBI, and Johnson was 1-for-4 with his 12th home run of the season, two runs and two RBI, leading UCM at the plate.
Central Missouri reliever
Egan Keeler (2-0) earned the victory on the mound, allowing no earned runs on no hits with three strikeouts and zero walks in an inning of relief.
The Mules outhit the RiverHawks, 15-8, and tallied nine stolen bases in the game.
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