The University of Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevils saw friends, family, faculty, and fans gather at Weevil Field to cheer on the Boll Weevils as the team was greeted for a send off to their first ever Super Regional series.
The Weevils would leave on Wednesday, May 22, around 12:30 pm for the 421 mile trip to Warrensburg, Missouri to face the Central Missouri Mules.
Central Missouri would enter the Super Regional as the #2 ranked team in NCAA Division II in the national rankings and the number one ranked team in the Central Region.
The Weevils were ranked 6th in the Central Region.
Central Missouri would also enter the Super Regional with a 50-8 overall record after winning their side of the Central Regional Bracket after defeating Minnesota State 12-10 in the opening round followed by a second round win over Augustana 18-3, and a win in the finals over Augustana 12-2.
Central Missouri and the Weevils had faced each other five times before the Super Regional matchup.
The Mules won their first contest 1-2 in 2013 followed by UAM defeating Central Missouri 4-2 in 2014 and again 5-4 in 2016 but would also be defeated by Central Missouri in the Central Regional final later in 2016 by a score of 7-4 and finally a loss in 2022 9-4.
UAM and Central Missouri would take the field on Friday, May 24, at 3 pm for game one.
UAM would be the visiting team on the scoreboard and would bat first with the Weevils going down in order to start the contest.
Connor Irvine would take the mound for the Weevils and would get the first three Mule batters out including two by strike out.
UAM would go three up, three down in the top of the second with Irvine facing four batters in the bottom of the inning.
UAM would get their first base runner of the contest in the top of the third inning after Deshuan Cordova was hit by a pitch, but Cordova would be stranded on the base paths when the inning ended.
Central Missouri got on the board in the bottom of the inning to take a 1-0 lead and added three runs in the bottom of the fourth and another in the bottom of the fifth to lead 5-0.
UAM would get two runs in the top of the sixth after a lead off home run by Roc Hawthorne and an RBI by Cade Cancilla on a sacrifice fly that scored Camden Tanner to cut the lead to 5-2.
Central Missouri would have a big inning in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring six runs to increase their lead to 11-2.
UAM would add a run in the top of the eighth inning on a solo home run by Chaz Poppy and three runs in the top of the ninth inning on a three run home run by Kirk Woolf that also scored Tanner and Hawthorne to set up the 11-6 final.
Returning for game two on Saturday at 2 pm, the Weevils would need a victory to force a third game in the best of three series.
Central Missouri would bat first in the second contest of the series and would get on the board early in the top of the first inning scoring four runs.
UAM would get a run back in the bottom of the first after a single by Tanner and a double by Woolf that scored Tanner.
Central Missouri added a run in the top of the second to extend their lead to 5-1, but UAM would score a run in the bottom of the inning after Cade Canciilla scored on a fielder’s choice by Parker Dorrance.
Central Missouri would add two more runs in the top of the third inning to increase the lead to 7-2 with the Weevils scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Woolf would get on base with a double to left followed by a single by Poppy to advance Woolf to third. Chase Cripps hit a sacrifice fly to score Woolf. Aidan Garrett would connect for a double that scored Poppy to cut the lead to 7-4.
Central Missouri would add two more runs in the contest, getting a rin in the top of the fifth inning and a run in the top of the eighth inning to set up the final score of 9-4 and the Super Regional series win.
With the win, the Mules will now travel to Cary, North Carolina to participate in the NCAA Division II College World Series.
For the Weevils, their season comes to an end with the Weevils having an overall record of 35-24, the teams most wins since winning 40 games in 2016, and a Great American Conference record of 23-10.
The Weevils complete the season with a share of the regular season Conference Championship, the Great American Conference Tournament Championship, and the Central Regional Bracket #2 Championship.
The Weevils also have the Great American Conference Coach of the Year, John Harvey, and the Great American Conference Freshman of the Year, Camden Tanner.
Tanner would also be named as a Second Team All-American and would be named to the All-Central Region First Team, and would set the single season hits record with a final tally of 90.
Coach Harvey improves to 376-265 at UAM.
