EDMOND, Okla. - The No. 29-ranked Northwest Missouri State University baseball team used rallies in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings to oust the No. 30-ranked Central Missouri Mules from the 2026 MIAA Tournament, 8-7.
Northwest captured its 36th win of the season in dramatic fashion with a walk-off two-out, two-run RBI single from
Sam Dinkelman that plated
John Connors and
Wilmer Jimenez.Â
The Bearcats rallied in the ninth inning to reach extra innings. UCM led 3-2 before
Michael Good led off with a single up the middle.
Leonardo May advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt.
Parker Griffith delivered a ground-rule double that bounced over the fence in right-center to knot the game at 3-3. After walks to
Frank Gall and
Jeremiah Cabuyaban loaded the bases, the Mules escaped when
Jordi Ventura struck out to end the ninth.
The Mules took advantage of a defensive miscue from May in the top of the 10th to score three unearned runs and take a 6-3 lead.
Northwest did not fold and answered with a three-run rally in the bottom half of the 10th. Connors walked and flew around the bases on an RBI-double to right-center from Jimenez. May drove an RBI-single to center to score Jimenez and slice the UCM lead to 6-5.
Sam Wornson singled past the shortstop to put runners on first and second. Back-to-back wild pitches from UCM pitcher Tommy Gross allowed May to cross the plate with the tying run.
Chester Brooks drew a walk and stole second to put runners at second and third with one out. UCM escaped in the 10th when Gross fanned both Gall and Cabuyaban.
UCM regained the lead at 7-6 in the top of the 11th when leadoff hitter Kaleb Ceola singled and moved to third when
Landon Wells's pickoff attempt went awry. The Mules used a squeeze bunt from Drew Veatch to score Ceola for the one-run advantage. Wells avoided further damage when he picked off Veatch and got Cole Kreisel to ground out to May at third.
Ventura led off the 11th with a strikeout, but Connors drew a walk and Jimenez single to left to put runners on first and second. Following a UCM pitching change,
Michael Good singled to right field to load the bases. May struck out for the second out to set the stage for Dinkelman's heroics. Head coach
Tony Jandron called on Dinkelman to pinch hit and he delivered a two-run single to right that plated Jimenez and Connors which set off a Bearcat field storming and an 8-7 triumph over the Mules.
Northwest's
Ben Haug and UCM's Sawyer Allen were locked in a pitcher's duel for the first seven-plus innings. Haug threw 129 pitches in 7 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts. Allen, the MIAA Pitcher of the Year, threw 124 pitches in 7 2/3 innings and struck out seven. Haug was touched up in the eighth for two runs before he gave way to
Brock Steggall. Wells pitched the final two innings to gain the win and moved to 5-2 on the season.
Good had a three-hit day that included a solo homer to right-center that began the day's scoring in the second inning. Good went 3-for-6 with two runs scored. It is Good's second three-hit game of the season. Jimenez went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Brooks tallied a two-hit day by going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Northwest advances to the MIAA semifinals to take top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Pittsburg State Friday at 10 a.m. Inclement weather is expected in Edmond later Friday resulting in the start time being moved to 10 a.m.
