ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Baseball played the role of David early, but No. 4 Central Missouri's inner Goliath soon came out to take the 6-5 win.
Missouri Western (5-21, 3-14 MIAA) did all they could to keep the line moving with the leaders being the usual suspects. Will Courtney singled to right to score Brady Holden to begin the game's scoring in the first. Alex Crouch pushed Ryan Neise across home plate on an RBI sacrifice fly, putting UCM (23-3, 17-0 MIAA) in the hole early.
The Griffons' quick 3-0 lead, however, didn't stick and came unglued immediately in the bottom of the second. The Mules made MWSU pay with a four-run inning that saw four singles snatch the Griffons' lead away. Missouri Western brought the game back square with a bases-loaded balk by UCM pitcher Hunter Little, but that turned out to be a small hiccup for the Mules.
One run in the fourth and fifth inning gave UCM the 6-4 advantage. Hunter Rumachik's bases-loaded walk brought the contest close within one, but the scoring went stagnant for the rest of the afternoon.
Pitcher Samson Holcomb kept his team in it near the end, pitching the seventh and eighth inning. Despite MWSU's offense not adding anymore runs, Holcomb achieved gave up just one hit and tallied four strikeouts on seven batters. Unfortunately for MWSU, the Griffs went 1-2-3 in the ninth to close out the loss.
Notables
Next Up
The Griffons will travel to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, on Friday at 2 p.m. for a three-game battle with the RiverHawks. Northeastern's record currently sits at 18-12 overall as they sport an 8-9 record against the MIAA.
