The Mules outlasted Missouri Western 16-14 to win the MIAA Tournament championship game Sunday at the Lou Brock Sports Complex.

(ST. CHARLES, Mo.) — The 12th-ranked Mules outlasted Missouri Western 16-14 to win the MIAA Tournament championship game Sunday at the Lou Brock Sports Complex. The two teams combined for 30 runs and 40 hits in a game that took nearly 3 1/2 hours to complete.

The Mules (38-13) swept the MIAA regular season and tournament championships, and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA-II Central Regional.

The Mules will take on seventh-seeded SW Oklahoma State (29-14), the GAC regular season champion. This will be the Mules’ 28th NCAA Regional appearance overall and the 21st in the last 23 years, but the first since 2013.

St. Cloud State (35-8) earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host. The Huskies beat the Mules 2-1 in the final game of the season-opening Houston Winter Invitational. SCSU will take on eighth-seeded Minnesota State (33-16). The other two matchups in the regional are No. 4 seed Arkansas-Monticello (35-14) against fifth-seeded Missouri Western (38-18) and No. 3 seed Minnesota-Duluth (39-14) taking on No. 6 seed Emporia State (37-17).

UCM struck first Saturday against Missouri Western, scoring three times in the top of the first on a Bennett Oliver three-run home run to right field. It was his 22nd of the season, leaving him just one shy of the MIAA single-season record of 23 set by Eric Shortell of Emporia State in 2008 and tied by Dean Long of ESU last year.

The Griffons (37-18) answered back in the home half with a two-run single by Kody Matthews to pull within 3-2. MWSU had loaded the bases with no outs, but Jesse Steinbring was able to limit the damage.

The Mules scored four times in the second to grab a 7-2 lead. Matt Elliott doubled down the line in right to drive in two runs and later scored on a Dylan Farrell RBI single. Oliver drove in Farrell with an RBI groundout to end the frame. Missouri Western answered back with four runs of their own to make it 7-6.

The Mules erupted for six more runs in the third. Elliott drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the first run and Farrell followed it up with a bases-clearing double. Alexander and Derek Cornell added RBI singles and UCM led 13-6. The lead grew to 14-6 in the fourth on Farrell’s sacrifice fly.

The Griffons plated two runs in the sixth, one on a double play with the bases loaded and the second on Alex Heuring’s RBI single to pull within 14-8.The Mules scored one run in the seventh on a Griffon fielding error and another in the eighth on an Olive RBI single to push the lead to 16-8.

Missouri Western kept fighting back though. The Griffons scored two in the eighth on RBIs from Heuring and Jeremy Alvarado to make it 16-10. MWSU then plated four runs in the ninth to pull within 16-14, and they brought the tying run to the plate, but Andy Muehlberger got Alvarado to foul out to first to end the game and give the Mules the championship.

Farrell and Oliver both went 3-for-5 with five RBI in the game. Alexander finished the day 5-for-6, upping his average to .415 and Elliott added three hits, three runs batted in and four runs scored.

Ross Juliana (3-1) earned the win after tossing 4.1 innings of relief, allowing two unearned runs on six hits.

Tyler Tuepker (1-2) took the loss for the Griffons after giving up five runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work.