Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the Columbia College baseball team was back in action when they played host to the Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs in the final game of the three game series. The Cougars, who swept the Mustangs in the doubleheader yesterday, fell this afternoon by a final score of 8-3 to drop to 24-9 on the season and 11-7 in in conference play.
Columbia College put together 13 hits in the loss. The Mustangs got off to a good start in this one as they scored one run in each of the first two innings to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead. They were able to add one more run in the top of the fifth and held a 3-0 advantage heading into the sixth. The Cougars answered back with a two run rally of their own in the bottom of the sixth but five runs from the Mustangs over the final three innings gave them an 8-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. Columbia College did the best they could to get back into the game and were able to score one final run in the bottom of the ninth but that was as close as they would get as Central Baptist closed them out down the stretch to hand the Cougars their first loss in seven games.
Cody Ebert (4-1) got the start in this one as the senior allowed four hits and two earned runs while striking out three in 3.0 innings of work. Mark Haire (2-1), Lane Threlkeld (0-0), Derek Sallee (3-3), Craig Smith (3-1), J.W. McGraw (4-0), and Jacob Ford (0-0) all came in to relieve Ebert as the six combined to allow nine hits and six earned runs while striking out seven batters in the final 6.0 innings of the game. Offensively, Columbia College was led by Ethan Howser who went 2-5 with two RBI's, Justin Randle who went 1-5 with an RBI, and Jordan Wright who had three hits in the game.
The baseball team is back in action on Tuesday, April 10th when they travel to Fayette, Missouri, to take on the 24th ranked Central Methodist (Mo.) University Eagles in a nonconference matchup. The game is set to start at 6 p.m.
