EDMOND, Okla. – The No. 5 seed Washburn powered its way past the top-seed and No. 3-nationally ranked Central Missouri, 15-13, in game one of the MIAA Baseball Championship Tournament on Thursday afternoon. The Ichabods advance in the bracket and will play Friday at 11 a.m. against the No. 2 seed Northeastern State. The RiverHawks defeated the No. 3 seed Pittsburg State, 7-4.
 
The Ichabods (32-18) attacked early and went up 3-0 in the opening inning. Brett Ingram reached base after he was hit by the second pitch of his at bat and then he advanced up to third on two wild pitches. Quinn Waterbury got the first run home on an RBI groundout. With two outs, Zion Bowlin walked and scored on Parker Dunn's double up the middle. Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli traded places with him on a double of his own to center field to give Washburn the three run advantage.
  
In the bottom of the second frame, the Mules' leadoff batter landed a hit in right field and attempted to stretch it into a double when Bowlin made a perfect throw to catch him at second base for the first out. UCM went on to hit a ground-rule double and later scored on a single to make it a 3-1 game.
 
Central Missouri (39-7) went in front, 4-3, in the third inning after scoring three runs on three hits.
 
With one out in the top of the fourth, Kros Bay tied the game with one swing of his mighty bat as he nuked the Rawlings-brand baseball over the fence down the left field line with tremendous pride and gusto.
 
The game didn't stay tied for long, though, as Central Missouri reclaimed the lead at 6-4 with two runs on three hits in the bottom half of the frame.
 
Washburn got one run back in the fifth after Ingram hit a leadoff double and made it home on Bowlin's single up the middle.
 
The Mules created some space and went up 8-5 after a two-run double in the fifth for their largest lead of the game.
 
Washburn used the long ball to quickly get back into the game in the sixth inning. Bay reached first on a throwing error and Connor Scott emptied the bases with a two-run home run to left center field to get the Ichabods within one, 8-7. With two outs, Ingram legged out a triple and on a 1-1 count, Waterbury's mighty swing resulted in another two-run homer to make the score 9-8 in favor of Washburn.
 
Central Missouri made a pitching change at the beginning of the seventh and Washburn jumped on the new arm. Dunn got things started with a double down the right field line and scored on Clark-Chiapparelli's single. Clark-Chiapparelli swiped second to get into scoring position and moved up to third on a single from Easton Bruce. Bay brought in a run with a sacrifice bunt to push Washburn's lead to 11-8. For the second time in as many innings, Scott cranked out a two-run bomb put the Ichabods up, 13-8.
 
UCM hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, but Dunn answered with a solo homer of his own in the top of the eighth to keep it a five run difference, 14-9.
 
The Mules continued to fight back and pulled within one run, 14-13, after a pair of two-run home runs in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Washburn picked up a big insurance run in the ninth inning to go in front, 15-13. With runners on the corners and two outs, Bowlin singled through the right side to bring in Watkins after he doubled earlier in the frame.
 
John Cross took over on the mound to close out the ninth and got the first out with a strikeout. The Mules had runners on first and second when Cross recorded the second strikeout. A five-pitch walk loaded the bases for Central Missouri, but Washburn secured the win with a 6-3 putout to end the game.
 
Central Missouri had a slight edge in hits, 17-16, and in doubles, 6-5, but Washburn led in home runs, 5-4.
 
Ingram finished his day at the plate 3-4 with a double, triple, and three runs scored. Dunn went 3-5 with a home run, two doubles, three runs scored, and two RBI. Scott had two hits go over the fence and collected four RBI. Clark-Chiapparelli was 2-4 with a double, a run scored, and he drove in two runs.
 
Austin Gerety (4-0) received the win as he took over in the fifth inning and got two outs before Washburn took the lead in the sixth. He issued one walk and struck out two. Cross earned his second save of the season after closing out a scoreless ninth inning with a couple strikeouts.

NOTES

• The Ichabods are now 24-29 overall in MIAA postseason play.
• Washburn is 2-2 against Central Missouri this season.
• The Ichabods ended then-ranked No. 4 UCM's 19-game winning streak on April 2 with a 15-4 victory.
• Washburn and Northeastern State faced earlier this season in Tahlequah on March 12-14 and the RiverHawks won the series, 2-1.
• NSU won the first game 4-0 and clinched the series with a high-scoring 24-23 game two win in 10 innings.
• WU won the finale, 19-15.
• These teams have never played each other in the MIAA Tournament.
• Northeastern State leads the all-time series 18-13.