WARRENSBURG, Mo.- The Jets hit the road to face Central Missouri for a three game series. The opening game went in favor of the Mules, 16-11.
How it Happened:
- The Jets and Mules were both held scoreless in the top of the first inning.
Ryan Pacha started on the mound for the Jets, facing just four batters in the top of one to help keep the contest scoreless. The first score would come in the bottom of the second inning, with a double that batted in the Mules first run. The Mules would later extend their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the third inning. These runs were scored off five hits with one error on the Jets defense.
- The Jets tacked on their first runs in the top of the fourth.
Beau Dalian reached on a hit by pitch.
Kaynan Kaku pushed Dalian to second with a single to right field. With runners on first and second,
Peyton Mitchell homered to left center to score three runs for the Jets. This cut the deficit to just 5-3. The Mules were quick to respond, scoring three runs off two hits and another error on the Jets defense. At the end of four, the Mules had the 8-3 lead.
Collin Morris would be the first base runner for the Jets in the top of the fifth, after earning a walk.
Anthony Cannavino followed this up with a hit by pitch, and
Justin Birch earned a walk to load the bases. Dalian would come up to the plate and connect with a sacrifice fly to score Morris. This closed the gap to 8-4. The Jets were unable to bat anymore runs around in the half inning. The Jets would continue to battle, holding UCM off the board in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, back-to-back hit by pitches earned by Mitchell and
Thomas Munn put runners on, followed by a walk earned by
Louis Coca would load the bases. With bases loaded,
Nicolas Ely hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring the Jets fifth run. Another hit by pitch would allow Morris to reach, loaded the bases again. Cannavio came up to the plate, hitting into a fielder's choice that was enough to score another run. After the top half of the sixth, the Jets trailed by two at 8-6.
- The Central Missouri offense put up four runs in the bottom of the sixth to stretch their lead to 12-6. In the top of the seventh, Dalian drew a walk that was followed by a single from Kaku. This put runners at first and second. Dalian would later advance to third on a pop fly. An error by the Mules third baseman would allow
Thomas Munn to reach, Kaku to advance to third, and Dalian would score.The next play, a passed ball allowed Kaku to score. This would cut the deficit to 12-8 heading into the bottom of the seventh. The Jets carried this momentum into the eighth inning. A hit by pitch earning by Morris led off the inning. Cannavino then reached on a fielder's choice, and an error allowed Morris to move to second. Birch followed this with a double to right, scoring Morris and pushing Cannavino to third. Dalian then grounded out, but would earn the RBI scoring Cannavino. Kaku singled, scoring the third run of the inning for Newman. After the eighth, the Jets trailed by just one run at 12-11. UCM answered back with a huge eighth inning. Four runs scored off of three hits for the Mules, extending their lead to 16-11. The Jets were unable to put any runs on the board in the top of the ninth. The Mules would take the series opener, 16-11.
Player Notes:
- Mitchell led the offense with three RBIs on the night.
- Kaku went 3-4, scoring three runs and hitting around one run.
- Dalian tallied two RBIs, scoring twice.
Baseball is back in action tomorrow beginning at 12 PM with a double header to close the series.
