WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The University of Central Missouri baseball team jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and rode that early momentum to a 7-1 victory over Pittsburg State University in the opening game of a three-game MIAA series Thursday (Apr. 14) at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field.

The No. 3 ranked Mules (31-4, 24-1 MIAA) and the Gorillas (23-14, 17-8 MIAA) will hit the field again for a 2 p.m. game Friday.

UCM scored a pair of runs in the first inning and three more in the second frame to build a five-run cushion early in the contest. The Mules Collin Jones (8-0), meanwhile, kept Pitt State's potent offense at bay by limiting the Gorillas to a lone run while scattering eight hits over 7.0 innings of work.

Mason Hartman led the Gorillas by going 3-for-4 at the plate. He singled in Brett Daley with Pitt State's only run in the top of the seventh inning. The Gorillas stranded 10 base runners in the contest.

Tanner Lane (3-5) took the loss. He allowed seven runs, six earned, in 6.0 innings pitched. He walked three and registered one strikeout.