WARRENSBURG, Mo. – No. 8-ranked University of Central Missouri Mules Baseball tallied 17 hits, helping it to a 19-12 victory over the Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions in the series finale of a three-game MIAA series on Sunday afternoon, March 22, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
With the win, the Mules (23-5, 14-3 MIAA) complete a three-game series sweep of the Lions (4-21, 3-13 MIAA).
Central Missouri fell behind 3-0 in the top of the second before scoring seven runs in the bottom half of the inning to gain a 7-3 advantage.
UAFS plated three runs in the top of the third to trim the UCM lead to 7-6, but the Mules outscored the Lions over the final seven innings, 12-6, to seal the seven-run victory.
Kaiden Ashton hit his first home run of the season – a solo homer down the right field in the sixth inning, while
Kaleb Ceola,
Cole Funkhouser,
Chase Wilcox, and
Cody Moore each tallied triples, and
Will Godfrey and
Cole Kreisel each had doubles, leading the Mules offensively.
UCM's four triples in the game tied the program single-game record, which has happened five previous times in program history, most recently in 2007 against Baldwin-Wallace.
Central Missouri relief pitcher
Hayes Allen (2-0) earned the win on the mound after allowing two earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and one walk in four innings of work.
For the game, UCM outhit Arkansas-Fort Smith, 17-10.
JJ Young homered three times and had six RBI, leading UAFS at the plate.
The Mules are scheduled to host the Washburn Ichabods (10-17, 7-8 MIAA) on Tuesday, March 24, at 3 p.m. in Warrensburg.
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