JOPLIN, Mo. - No. 1- seed Central Missouri and No. 6 Central Oklahoma both claimed wins on Day 1 of the 2021 MIAA Baseball Championship Tournament, presented by Mammoth Sports Construction. The event is hosted by Missouri Southern State University at Warren Turner Field with the championship final slated for Saturday at Noon CT. Tickets, courtesy of HomeTown Ticketing, are on-sale now. Click here to buy tickets.

• For the complete championship schedule, bracket, live stats, live video, tickets and more information, click here. 

Thursday, May 20 Results

• No. 1 Central Missouri def. No. 4 Pittsburg State, 9-5
• No. 6 Central Oklahoma def. No. 7 Rogers State, 19-6 (7 innings)

Friday, May 21 Schedule

• (Game 3) Winner's Bracket: No. 1 Central Missouri vs. No. 6 Central Oklahoma, 11 a.m. CT
• (Game 4) Elimination Bracket: No. 4 Pittsburg State vs. No. 7 Rogers State, 3 p.m. CT
• (Game 5) Elimination Bracket: Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3, 7 p.m. CT

Game 1 Recap: No. 1 Central Missouri def. No. 4 Pittsburg State, 9-5
Regular-season champion Central Missouri moved to the winner's bracket behind a nine-run, nine-hit performance this afternoon. After trailing 1-0 after the top of the first inning, the Mules responded with four runs of their own in the second and they would never trail again.

Pittsburg State made the game interesting by getting three combined runs in the third and fourth frame. At that point, UCM still led 4-3. From there, the No. 1-ranked team in the NCAA Central Region plated two more in the bottom of the fourth and two in the fifth to widen the gap. Pitt State never could threaten down the stretch.

On the mound, Mason Green of Central Missouri went 5 1/3 innings allowing five runs, all earned, on six hits. He struck out six as he improved to 13-0 on the year. The UCM relievers tossed 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball.

Offensively, Donovan Ditto went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Mules. Alex Madera also ripped two hits, including a fifth-inning home run, and scored twice. For PSU, lead-off hitter Cruz Aranda collected two hits and two RBI and Greyson Pickett went 2-for-4.

Game 2 Recap: No. 6 Central Oklahoma def. No. 7 Rogers State, 19-6 (7 innings)
In a game with 25 combined runs, Central Oklahoma rolled offensively in the 19-6 run-rule shortened victory. The Bronchos plated 12 runs in the first two innings and never looked back. 

Rogers State took a 2-0 lead in the visitor-half of the first inning. Then, UCO countered by batting around in the order and putting up a six-spot on the board. The first inning took 38 minutes to complete.

After the third inning, Central Okahoma led 13-1 and again had another big outburst in the sixth inning. The Bronchos put the first three batters on base to begin the frame and after it was all said-and-done, UCO pushed across five more runs on four hits to go up 19-4 after six innings.

Rogers State struggled in the field recording five errors.

Luke Anderson collected the win on the hill for UCO going 5.0 innings. He allowed four runs, all earned, on sixs hits. He walked four and struck out three.

At the dish, lead-off man Philip Scott was a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs scored for the Bronchos. Four other UCO batters finished with at least two base knocks.

RSU's Mason Harvey and Christian Merriwether each gathered a pair of hits in the loss.