Central Missouri baseball faces elimination game Friday evening after loss to Tampa

The No. 1-seeded Central Missouri baseball team dropped its first game of the NCAA Division II World Series 8-1 to Tampa with an uncharacteristic lack of offense Friday morning. The Mules had five hits in their second straight game against Tampa, but all of them were singles.

Central Missouri (45-7) now must win an elimination game against Tampa (23-5) later Friday at 6 p.m. CT. Despite the low-scoring outing for the Mules, it looked like they might be able to escape with a win until the last three innings, when Tampa scored all eight runs, including five in the eighth.

Josh Schumacher scored Central Missouri’s only run on a wild pitch. He was the only Mule to score in a bases-loaded situation with one away. UCM’s big hitters struggled, with Dusty Stroup hitless and Erik Webb registering one hit and a walk.

Conor Dryer thew five scoreless on 69 pitches for Central Missouri, but the Mules’ bullpen was problematic in relief.

This story was originally published June 11, 2021 at 2:36 PM.