WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Washburn baseball came up just short on both ends of Saturday's doubleheader at No. 5 Central Missouri as the Ichabods lost 12-10 in game one and 3-2 in the second game. The series finale will take place tomorrow (Sunday) at 1 p.m. at Tompkins Field.
GAME 1 (Central Missouri 12-Washburn 10)
Xavier De Leon got things started in a hurry as he swung on the first pitch of the game and sent it to left center for a triple.
Kros Bay brought De Leon home on an RBI groundout to give Washburn (7-12, 6-8 MIAA) an early 1-0 lead.
The Mules (17-4, 13-1 MIAA) responded with one run of their own in the home half of the frame to even the score.
Central Missouri took the lead in the third, scoring three runs on two hits to go in front, 4-1.
The Ichabods battled back in the fifth to tie up the game again.
Peter Shearer led off with a solo homer to center field to cut the deficit in half.
Cole Emerson followed that up with a single down the first base line and then stole second to get in scoring position. De Leon got down a bunt single and a throwing error committed by the pitcher allowed him to advance to second base while Emerson dashed home to score. An RBI single up the middle by
Parker Dunn scored De Leon to knot up the score.
Struggles with ball control would plague the Washburn pitchers in the fifth inning as Central Missouri capitalized and put up three runs to retake the lead, 7-4.
The Mules pushed their lead to 12-4 in the bottom of the seventh.
Showing resiliency in the top of the eighth, Washburn fought back with six runs on six hits to make it a two run game.
Eric Hinostroza got things going with a leadoff single through the right side. Down in a 0-2 count,
Zion Bowlin sent the ball over the left field fence for a two-run home run. With one out, Shearer was hit by a pitch and moved up to second on a single by Emerson. De Leon hit a single to right field to load the bases for
Kros Bay, who promptly hit a two-RBI double to left field.
Brett Ingram recorded an RBI groundout that scored De Leon and Dunn's single through the left side plated Bay to make it 12-10.
The Washburn rally fell short, however, as the Ichabods went down in order in the ninth.
De Leon went 4-4 at the plate with a walk and scored three runs. Dunn had two hits and two RBI and Bay drove in a team-high three runs. Emerson and Shearer both landed two hits and score twice.
Rane Pfeifer was tabbed with the loss, going 4.2 innings and allowing six runs while striking out four. Central Missouri's Mason Green improved to 6-0 on the season after working six innings and allowing four runs and striking out nine.
GAME 2 (Central Missouri 3-Washburn 2)
The second game was the opposite of the first game as a pitcher's duel replaced the plethora of scoring.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third when Central Missouri put up a run on a sacrifice fly.
The Ichabods had one runner in scoring position in four of the seven innings heading into the eighth, but had not been able to bring anyone home. That all changed on a two out double by Dunn, who then easily scored to tie the game when Bay hit the first pitch of the at bat to center field for a triple. After a pitching change, Bowlin kept the Washburn momentum going with an RBI single to give the Ichabods their first lead of the game.
The lead was short-lived as the Mules hit two solo home runs in the home half of the eighth to reclaim the lead at 3-2.
Washburn went down in order in the ninth as Central Missouri's Harrison Babbitt recorded the save.
Bay and Bowlin both had two hits and an RBI.
Carson Sader also had two hits, going 2-3 at the plate with a walk.
Despite receiving the loss, Ichabod starter
Brock Gilliam turned in a quality start, going eight innings and allowing three runs on six hits while striking out nine.
