WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Ichabods were unable to hold on to an early lead and lost the series finale on Sunday afternoon, 13-8, at No. 24-ranked Central Missouri. The Ichabods will remain on the road next weekend and travel to Central Oklahoma.
Trevor McCollum got things started on a strong note for the Ichabods (21-13, 14-6 MIAA) with a triple down the right field line on the second pitch of the game and then he easily scored on an infield single by
Cal Watkins to put Washburn up, 1-0.
The Ichabods added to their lead in the second inning. With one out, the Mules issued three-consecutive to load the bases. Watkins stepped up to the plate with two outs and swung and missed on a 1-2 pitch, but the ball got away from the catcher, who then airmailed the throw to first base and allowed the inning to continue and two runs to come across. Washburn capitalized on the miscue one more time as
Cale Savage brought in a run on an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Mules (24-9, 16-4 MIAA) started to chip away at the deficit in the bottom of the second and put up three runs on four hits.
Central Missouri took its first lead of the afternoon in the third inning on a three-run homer that made it 6-4 in favor of UCM.
Washburn had an answer and leveled the score in the top of the fourth.
Otto Jones drew a six-pitch walk and
Trevor McCollum reached on an error by the short stop. A sacrifice bunt from Watkins moved both runners up 90 feet and into scoring position. A wild pitch brought one run in and a sacrifice fly by Savage scored the second to tie the score at 6-all.
UCM reclaimed the lead in the home half of the fourth with a leadoff home run. The Mules extended their lead to 9-6 an inning later after another solo homer and an RBI single with two outs.
In the top of the sixth inning, Washburn had three-straight batters received free passes with either a walk or a hit by pitch. With two outs,
Easton Bruce sent the first pitch of his at bat into center field for a two-RBI single to pull within one, 9-8.
Charlie Kiefer returned to the mound for his third inning of work in the sixth and retired the side in order. He got the first two outs in the seventh before running into some trouble and surrendered four runs on five hits as UCM increased its lead to 13-8.
Both teams went down in order in the eighth frame and Washburn's leadoff walk in the ninth was erased by a game-ending double play.
Central Missouri had a 16-8 advantage in hits and recorded four home runs and three doubles. Bruce landed two hits and knocked in two runs. Savage also collected two RBI and scored once. Jones was walked twice and scored two runs.
