The University of Arkansas at Monticello has reached a new level in its baseball history — a Super Regional.
UAM’s offense stayed hot with 6 runs in the second inning, and the Boll Weevils won their first NCAA Division II regional championship, 11-4, over host Missouri Southern State University in Joplin on Saturday. The Weevils will face the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo., in the best-of-3 Super Regional, scheduled for May 24-25, after Central Missouri beat South Dakota’s Augustana University 13-2.
Seeded sixth in the double-bracket Central Region, the Weevils (35-22) went 3-0 in Joplin after beating Arkansas Tech University for the second straight game (UAM beat Tech in the Great American Conference championship on May 11) and Missouri Southern in two straight games, including a 7-4 win in the winners’ bracket final Friday.
On Saturday UAM set the tone for one of the greatest days in its athletic history with three straight 2-run hits. Roc Hawthorne hit a single to left to bring in the first 2 runs. Kirk Woolf brought in the next 2 on a double to right field, and Chase Cripps went up the middle for a 2-run single.
The Lions managed to make a game of it after Treghan Parker slapped an RBI single and Drew Davis powered a 3-run home run over right field, all in the top of the fourth. The Weevils responded in the bottom half when Chaz Poppy doubled to left field for a run, Cripps hit a sacrifice fly, and Cade Cancilla doubled to left center for another RBI.
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Woolf belted a 2-run shot over left field in the seventh. He and Hawthorne each had 2 hits.
Dylan Vail struck out 2 and held the Lions to 1 hit on 55 pitches through 4 innings for the win. Maxim Mrakovcic struck out 7 and allowed 4 earned runs on 4 hits in the first 4 innings. Kyle Roop needed only 5 pitches for a perfect ninth inning.
Missouri Southern used 6 pitchers. Starter Jacob Davis allowed 5 earned runs on 2 hits in 1 ⅓ innings.
UAM had 10 hits to Missouri Southern’s 5.