Jon Wegener went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs as No. 1 seed Central Missouri defeated No. 3 seed Nebraska Omaha, 7-1, to claim the 2011 MIAA Baseball Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
 
It is the 19th tournament championship for Central Missouri (45-8), and the 15th in the last 18 years for the Mules.
 
Matt Curtis pitched 7.0 innings for UCM, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out four to get the win. Travis Unthank pitched two shutout innings to preserve the victory for the Mules.
 
Central Missouri got on the board early on a sacrifice fly to left field by MIAA Player of the Year Nick DeBiasse that scored Bret Schwartz to give the Mules a 1-0advantage. The very next at-bat, Wegener singled to left center to score Tyler Ruch, and put UCM up 2-0.
 
Nebraska Omaha (35-20) cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run to right field by MIAA Freshman of the Year Caleb Palensky, the second consecutive at-bat that Palensky put one over the fence (grand slam Saturday afternoon against Emporia State).
 
After a scoreless second, Central Missouri extended its lead to 3-1 in the top of the third inning on a Wegener single to right field that scored Ruch.
 
In the top of the fourth, a sacrifice bunt by Schwartz brought Will Mulligan home to give the Mules a 4-1 advantage.
 
Two innings later, a double by Tyler Anthony scored Frank Specht to make it 5-1 UCM in the top of the sixth. The Mules would add two more to seal the deal in the ninth inning, on an RBI single by DeBiasse and a sac bunt by Wegener.
 
DeBiasse finished the day 1-for-3 with two RBIs, Anthony was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Ruch was 3-for-5 with three runs scored for Central Missouri.
 
Palensky went 1-for-4 for Nebraska Omaha with the solo homer, and Mark Waldron was 2-for-4 at the plate for the Mavericks.
 
Central Missouri earns the MIAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional, while Nebraska Omaha awaits its regional fate. The selection showwill take place at 9 p.m. Sunday night on NCAA.com.