(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — Emporia State scored three runs in the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie and beat Central Missouri 6-3 in a game that was delayed 56 minutes by rain at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. The game was delayed in the bottom of the seventh with the game still tied.
The Mules (12-13) got on the board first with a single run in the second inning on a Derek Cornell RBI single. The Hornets (16-6) came right back to tie the game in the top of the third on a Wade Hanna sacrifice fly.
UCM went back in front on Tony Sandifer‘s RBI groundout in the fourth only to see ESU take the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth. Garrett McKinzie had an RBI single and Price Jacobs added an RBI groundout to give the Hornets a 3-2 lead.
The Mules tied the game in the sixth when Colton Hilbrenner scored on a throwing error to make it 3-3. UCM got a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh, but that’s when the game was delayed nearly an hour. Following the delay, the Hornets pitched around the runner in scoring position to keep the game tied.
The game remain tied until the ninth, when ESU plated three runs to take the lead. Jordan Hodges had an infield single to advance Levi Parker to third, who then scored on a UCM throwing error. Evan Koehler had a two-run double later in the inning to give the Hornets the 6-3 lead. Shawn Talkington struck out the side in the ninth to earn his second save of the season and give Emporia State the win.
Trevor Ezell (1-3) took the loss for UCM after giving up three runs on three hits in the ninth. Travis Hendry (4-1) earned the win for ESU, pitching 1.1 innings of no-hit relief.
Cornell had three hits in the game for the Mules and Trevor Jones had two.
UCM is back in action this weekend hosting Central Oklahoma in four-game series at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field. The series gets underway with a single game on Friday at 3 p.m.