HOUSTON – The No. 2-ranked Central Missouri Mules Baseball team wrapped up the 2026 Houston Winter Invitational with a 10-2 victory over the Ashland Eagles on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 1, at Daikin Park in downtown Houston, Texas.
The Mules (2-1) are scheduled to host Arkansas Tech (1-2) in a four-game series Feb. 6-8 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg for its 2026 home-opening series.
Ashland (1-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the second inning before Central Missouri came charging back, scoring six runs in the bottom half of the second and two in the third to surge to an 8-1 advantage.
Ryker Edwards scored the opening run of the second on an RBI fielder's choice from
Jackson Bryant before
Cody Moore crossed home plate on an Ashland error for the go-ahead run.
Kaiden Ashton smacked an infield RBI single bunt to first base that plated
Collin Dobson, and
Evan Vienhage delivered the exclamation point of the inning when he crushed a three-run triple to right-center field, making it 6-1, Mules.
Ashton and
Cole Funkhouser delivered RBI singles in the third inning, putting UCM up, 8-1.
Central Missouri tacked on a run each in the fifth and sixth innings. Bryant belted an RBI double down the left field line in the fifth, and
Drew Veatch drove in Vienhage on a sacrifice fly for the Mules' final runs of the game.
Vienhage went 1-for-4 with three RBI and a triple, Ashton was 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, Bryant was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI, and Dobson was 2-for-4 with two runs, pacing UCM at the plate in the game.
Freshman right-handed reliever
Gavin Williams (1-0) earned the victory on the mound, allowing no earned runs on no hits with three strikeouts and one walk in two innings.
For the game, UCM outhit Ashland, 9-6.
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