No. 3 Central Missouri Eliminated by GCSU, 9-4

CARY, N.C. (UCM Media Relations) -- No. 3 Central Missouri saw its season come to an end on Wednesday at the NCAA-II National Championships, as No. 4 Georgia College and State took a 9-4 decision to advance to the semifinals.

The Mules (52-11) finished in a tie for fifth at the Championships, making it the 13th time they have finished at least that high in their 15 trips.

Things started off on the wrong foot for the Mules as the Bobcats (41-16) scored two in the first inning, one of which was off a dropped fly ball by the Mules. UCM came back to cut the lead in half in the second on an RBI single by Steffon Williams though. The Mules then scored three more in the third to take a 4-2 lead, led by RBI hits from Nick DeBiasse and Tyler Ruch, along with a safety squeeze bunt from Frank Specht.

The Bobcats rallied for four more runs in the bottom of the third though, chasing starter Mitch Stubenhofer after only 2.2 innings of work. With the 6-4 lead, GCSU went to the bullpen, bringing in Brendon Malkowski. The move paid off as he finished the game allowing only two hits and striking out nine Mules in six innings.

The Bobcats tallied single runs in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings off seven Mule relievers to pad the lead.

The Mules had eight hits in the game, while GCSU put up 10, including two home runs. Bret Schwartz had two hits for the Mules, while five others tallied hits in the contest.