PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Washburn jumped ahead in the top of the first and never let go in the opening game of the MIAA Championship Tournament, winning 11-1 in eight innings over No. 2 Central Missouri. The Ichabods will face the winner of Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State on Friday at 11 a.m.
Cale Savage started the first inning rally by reaching base on an error in the field. Cash Jay and Hayden Priest each followed with singles to load the bases with one out. Connor Scott knocked a double down the right field line to score two. Blake Scott made it four hits in a row on a single into left to score two more and complete a four-run top of the first for the No. 5 seeded Ichabods (32-19).
After a scoreless first inning on the mound from Griffin Huiatt the top-seeded Mules (45-7) picked up action on the bases with two-outs in the second. A single and a walk put two on before an error loaded the bases. Huiatt walked the next batter before tossing a strikeout to end the inning leading 4-1.
Neither side scored the next three innings with Huiatt ended the fifth inning by working around a bases loaded and one out jam with a pair of fly outs. Connor Scott ended the scoreless drought with a leadoff home run to dead away center in the top of the sixth inning. Cal Watkins singled with two-outs in the inning and Ike Book brought him around with his first round-tripper of the season going to right center field to make it 7-1 after six and a half.
Huiatt finished his outing with a pair of outs in the bottom of the sixth before Jayden Payne finished off the inning. Payne and Charlie Kiefer combined to toss a scoreless seventh inning which ended with a 5-4-3 double play to strand another Mule on the bases.
Connor Scott walked to lead off the eighth and moved all the way to third on a stolen base and throwing error on the pickoff attempt. Grant Jones netted the run with a sacrifice fly. Washburn blasted its third home run of the game the next batter, this one off the bat of Watkins to right field, scoring Blake Scott as well.
Book kept the inning going with a single and Payton McHarg walked. Both advanced a base on a balk and Savage took care of the rest with a sacrifice fly to left.
Kiefer stayed on in the eighth inning and worked around a one-out double to finish off the game leaving two Central Missouri runners on base and end it in eight innings, 11-1.
The Ichabods needed only nine hits to score their 11 runs. Connor Scott, Cal Watkins and Ike Book all had two-hit days and went yard. Scott led with three runs driven in.
On the mound Washburn tied its fewest runs allowed in a game for the year. Huiatt went 5.2 innings in the start, with four strikeouts and only three hits allowed to earn the win and move to 3-3. The one run scored also went unearned. As a staff the Ichabods allowed just five hits in the game, tied for the second fewest from the Mules in a game this season. The one run generated by Central Missouri is the lowest total on the year for the No. 2 ranked team.
