No. 12 Baseball Battles But Falls To No. 2 Central Missouri 5-3 At NCAA Championship Opener

OVERVIEW – CENTRAL MISSOURI (NCAA DII CHAMPIONSHIPS)

SCORE: No. 2 Central Missouri Mules 5, No. 12 Northwood Timberwolves 3
RECORDS: Northwood 40-21, Central Missouri 44-11
LOCATION: Coleman Field – USA Baseball Complex
RECAP: No. 12 Northwood baseball battles but falls to No. 2 Central Missouri 5-3 to open the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships Friday night (May 30)

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Central Missouri came out fast in the opening inning, plating three runs on four hits with just one batter being retired.
• Northwood settled into the game at that point, keeping the score at 3-0 until the top of the fifth inning. NU got on the board in the fifth on a bases loaded walk from Drew Charters that made the score 3-1.
• After the slow start to the game, Northwood starting pitcher Tyler Sager settled into the game and threw well. Over the final 6 2/3 innings of the game, he allowed no runs on three hits. Sager struck out seven while walking two.
• Alex Jarboe came up big for the Timberwolves in the top of the eighth, connecting on a two-run home run to tie the score at 3-3.
• Central Missouri responded right away in the bottom of the eighth, scoring on a sacrifice fly and a solo home run to take a 5-3 lead.
• NU went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to give the Mules the victory.

GAME STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Northwood: 3/7/1, Central Missouri 5/8/0
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 8, Central Missouri: 4
• Winning Pitcher – JD McReynolds (8-0): 2 IP, H, 4 K
• Losing Pitcher – Dominic Mauro (5-4): IP, H, 2 R, BB, 2 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Jarboe: HR, 2 RBIs
• Charters: 1-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
• Myles Beale 2-5
• Ben Narr: 2-4
• Sager: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K

NORTHWOOD QUOTES

• Brad Baldwin on the game:
• • "I'm proud of the way we competed. Tyler (Sager) threw one heck of a game after (Central Missouri) got off to a fast start in the opening inning, giving us seven innings and giving us a chance to get our offense rolling. It's easy to look at the eighth inning and think we let it get away, but we let a few too many opportunities get away from us. Central Missouri is a really great team playing great baseball at the right time of the year. Overall, it was a hard-fought battle and a great game."
• Baldwin on playing at the NCAA DII Championships:
• • "One thing I let the guys know is that the game stays the same. We need to trust the process and trust what has gotten us here. After that first inning, we settled in. You have to tip your cap to Central Missouri – they did a lot of really good things. We have to do a great job in practice and in prep tomorrow to get ready for Sunday."
• Alex Jarboe on his game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning:
• • "It was a slider, down and in. My favorite pitch to go after. I knew it was gone right off the bat."
• Jarboe on the late comeback:
• • "We've had a lot of late rallies in games this year. It's one of those things we expect to happen as a team, unfortunately it didn't fall our way in the end. You realize as a dugout that we can do this and that it only takes one."
• Tyler Sager on his outing:
• • "I think things sped up on me in the beginning, with it being our first time here. This place is pretty special. After that I fell into what I have done most of the year. I felt a lot better after the first, things slowed down and I settled in."

UP NEXT

• Northwood will face East Stroudsburg in an elimination game Sunday (June 1). Game time is set for 1:30 p.m.