Baseball loses two to conference foe
Blake Toppmeyer
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Sports
A streak spanning almost two decades continued for the baseball team Tuesday at Truman Baseball Park.
The Bulldogs hosted a doubleheader against the University of Central Missouri. The Mules won Game 1 9-6 and took Game 2 10-5 to extend their winning streak to 64 in a row against Truman. The Bulldogs (7-39, 5-27 MIAA) have not defeated Central Missouri, which currently is ranked No. 23 in Div. II, since 1989.
The Mules (35-13, 23-7 in the MIAA), who hit nine home runs in a doubleheader in Kirksville last season, bunted their way to victory in Game 1. Of UCM's 15 hits in the first game, five came off of bunt singles.
"It was very unexpected," head coach Dan Davis said of the bunts. "They did a good job with it. It wasn't like we weren't ready after the first one. We were playing in [at the corners]. They were just great bunts. A great bunt is hard to defend because you can't just play right in their face the whole time because the next thing you know, they're going to hit it by you. That's what they try to do, bring you in and then hit it by you."
The Mules had three bunt singles in a six-run second inning, which sparked the Game 1 win.
"They were pretty good bunts," freshman starting pitcher Eric Radel said. "They were all consistently right down the line, and then one of them got by me in the air on my left side."
The Bulldogs did bang out 10 hits in the game, including two apiece by sophomore outfielder Keaton Jones and freshman designated hitter Kevin Zukaitis, but they stranded 10 baserunners.
In Game 2, UCM starting pitcher Kris Webber pitched six innings and allowed just two hits before Truman broke through against reliever Scott Reller for four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.
"[Webber] was throwing three pitches for a strike, and he was down [in the zone] the whole time," Davis said.
The Mules used a three-run fourth inning and four-run sixth inning to garner the win in Game 2.
The Bulldogs hosted a doubleheader against the University of Central Missouri. The Mules won Game 1 9-6 and took Game 2 10-5 to extend their winning streak to 64 in a row against Truman. The Bulldogs (7-39, 5-27 MIAA) have not defeated Central Missouri, which currently is ranked No. 23 in Div. II, since 1989.
The Mules (35-13, 23-7 in the MIAA), who hit nine home runs in a doubleheader in Kirksville last season, bunted their way to victory in Game 1. Of UCM's 15 hits in the first game, five came off of bunt singles.
"It was very unexpected," head coach Dan Davis said of the bunts. "They did a good job with it. It wasn't like we weren't ready after the first one. We were playing in [at the corners]. They were just great bunts. A great bunt is hard to defend because you can't just play right in their face the whole time because the next thing you know, they're going to hit it by you. That's what they try to do, bring you in and then hit it by you."
The Mules had three bunt singles in a six-run second inning, which sparked the Game 1 win.
"They were pretty good bunts," freshman starting pitcher Eric Radel said. "They were all consistently right down the line, and then one of them got by me in the air on my left side."
The Bulldogs did bang out 10 hits in the game, including two apiece by sophomore outfielder Keaton Jones and freshman designated hitter Kevin Zukaitis, but they stranded 10 baserunners.
In Game 2, UCM starting pitcher Kris Webber pitched six innings and allowed just two hits before Truman broke through against reliever Scott Reller for four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.
"[Webber] was throwing three pitches for a strike, and he was down [in the zone] the whole time," Davis said.
The Mules used a three-run fourth inning and four-run sixth inning to garner the win in Game 2.
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