Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Junior left fielder Derek Cornell drove in five runs and Central Missouri scored five times in the fifth inning to beat Nebraska-Kearney, 10-5, in an MIAA Tournament game Thursday night in Warrensburg, Mo.
 
The Lopers (29-20) need to win Friday night at 6:00 p.m. to force an "if necessary" game Saturday.
 
Things were going Kearney's way early on as they hit solo home runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings to build a 4-3 lead through 5.1 innings.
 
The Mules (29-20) played small ball in the fifth, starting things off with a single and then using back-to-back sac bunts to load the bases. The first bunt resulted in a fielder's choice and the second a Loper error. 

 

Batting from the three hole, Cornell (2 for 4) singled to right to give UCM the lead for good. After Cornell stole second, a wild pitch brought home another run. The Mules ended the night with five steals and also moved up the base paths on five wild pitches. 
 
A sac fly, bunt single and double to the gap brought home two more runs in the Mule fifth.
 
"The Achilles heel for us all season has been the big inning. You cannot allow an inning like that in playoffs and expect to be competitive," said UNK head coach Damon Day. "I thought our hitters did a good job against their best guy and we had some things going. But, we had some defensive miscues and couldn't shut off a big inning."
 
Senior third baseman Danny Droll (Penrose, Colo.) had an RBI single in the sixth but was one of two runners left stranded in the inning. UNK also had runners at first and second in the seventh but couldn't cross home plate.
 
Junior right hander Carlos D'Armas (3-1) struck out six and walked just one over 5.2 innings to earn the win for UCM. While he gave up three long balls, he allowed only four other hits.

Next, sophomore Grant Gavin fanned six over 3.1 innings to record his third save. Finally, third baseman Tony Sandifer went 3 for 4 with two runs.
 
For UNK, seniors Max Ayoub (2 for 4, two runs) and Dillon Schroeder (Kearney Catholic H.S.) and sophomore Brent Kirsch (Papillion-LaVista South H.S.) each hit homers with senior second baseman Coby Roming (Canyon, Texas) having two web gems in the field.
 
"It's now May. We haven't had a very good month of April so let's make sure we have a great month of May," said Day.