WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Pitcher
Sawyer Allen went the full nine innings, and
Grant Hollister hit a grand slam, lifting the No. 3-seeded University of Central Missouri Mules Baseball team to a 6-1 victory over the No. 5-seeded Augustana (S.D.) Vikings in the opening game of a best-of-three NCAA Division II Central Super Regional series on a rainy Thursday afternoon, May 21, at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
The Mules (38-15) and Vikings (45-15) are scheduled to play game two of the Super Regional at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 22, in Warrensburg. If UCM wins on Friday, it'll secure its 22nd NCAA Division II Regional Championship and a spot in the Division II College World Series in Cary, N.C. An Augustana victory would force a decisive game three on Saturday, May 23, at 1 p.m. at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.
The Vikings gained an early 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the third inning before the Mules leveled the contest, 1-1, in the bottom of the fifth when
Drew Veatch belted a towering solo home run to left field, his third of the season.
The game remained in a 1-1 stalemate until the bottom of the seventh when Central Missouri plated five runs.
Brock Kobel drove in the go-ahead run on an RBI single to left field before Hollister provided the exclamation point in the game, crushing a 2-0 pitch over the left-centerfield wall with the bases loaded for a grand slam, his second homer of 2026, to blow the game open, 6-1.
Allen kept Augustana off the scoreboard in the final two innings of the game, sealing the win for the Mules.
Veatch was 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and an RBI. Hollister was 2-for-4 with a grand slam, four RBI, and a run scored.
Evan Vienhage and
Kaleb Ceola each had two hits, and
Chase Wilcox tallied a double, pacing UCM at the plate.
A senior left-hander from Platte City, Mo., Allen tallied Central Missouri's first nine-inning complete game on the mound since 2024, giving up one earned run on just eight hits with seven strikeouts and only one walk in nine innings and 131 pitches.
Brandon Weigel had two hits, pacing Augustana offensively.
For the game, the Mules outhit the Vikings, 11-8.
