OZARK, Mo. – The Central Methodist University baseball team hopes the good fortunes of the 2017 season continue on Friday when the Eagles open play in the second round of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Baseball Tournament. CMU, which received a first-round bye, will open play against Avila University at 4 p.m. at U.S. Baseball Park. It is one of four second-round games to be played on Friday.

The tournament was shifted back one day because of heavy rains in the area on Wednesday. Four squads played single elimination play-in games on Thursday, with Avila outlasting Graceland University, 11-7, and Culver-Stockton College eliminating Evangel University, 14-13, in a thriller.

FOLLOW THE GAME
Central Methodist vs. Avila University, 4 p.m.
For FREE live stats – CLICK HERE
For FREE live video - CLICK HERE
Current CMU Statistics – CLICK HERE
Current Avila Statistics – CLICK HERE
CMU Roster – CLICK HERE
Avila Roster – CLICK HERE
Heart Baseball Tournament Central – CLICK HERE
Heart Baseball Tournament Bracket – CLICK HERE

No. 7-seeded Avila improved to 30-23 on the season and has won five of its last six games coming into Friday's action. AU will take on a No 2-seed CMU team which is 39-13 and has won six of its last seven contests.

In other second-round double-elimination matchups, #1 Clarke University (42-10) will square off against #8 Culver-Stockton College (27-27) at 10 a.m., followed by #4 Peru State College (32-18) taking on #5 Grand View University (28-21) at 1 p.m. The final game of the day will match #3 Benedictine College (33-20) against #6 MidAmerica Nazarene University (30-18) at 7 p.m.

There will be a pair of elimination games on Saturday, with two championship bracket matchups, with games at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Action will continue on Sunday with four more games in the semifinals, before the championship round on Monday and possibly Tuesday.

A Central Methodist victory over Avila on Friday will put CMU in the 7 p.m. game on Saturday against the winner between Benedictine and MidAmerica Nazarene, while a loss would put the Eagles in the 1 p.m. contest against the loser of BC and MNU in an elimination matchup.

Central Methodist and Avila have played four times this season, with CMU capturing all four in a series played in Fayette in mid-March. Central won the four contests by a combined 34-12. However, the first two games were won by three (4-1) and two (2-0) runs.

CMU is led offensive by Dustyn Macaluso (SR/Sacramento, Calif.), who is hitting .451 on the season, with 83 hits, including 15 doubles, a pair of triples and 10 home runs. He's also driven in 54 runs this season and owns a slugging percentage of .717. Zach Beckner (SR/Versailles, Kent.) is second offensively among starters, hitting .395, with 66 hits, with 12 doubles two triples and 11 homers. He has driven in 63 runs and owns a slugging percentage of .689. Jared Johnson (JR/DeKalb, Ill.) is third, with a .370 average, with 13 doubles and six home runs. He has driven in 32 runs this season.

Chris Danielson (SR/Saugus, Calif.) is one of the top pitchers on the CMU staff, with a 6-1 record and a 2.92 earned run average. He has four complete games, a pair of shutouts, two saves and has struck out 52. C.J. Martin owns a 3.24 ERA and a 6-3 record. He has fanned 56 and walked only 19. Kyle Fulton (JR/Monroe City, Mo.) is 5-0 on the hill, with an ERA of 3.58. He has 45 strikeouts. Dariel Checo (SO/New York, NY) leads Central Methodists in strikeouts with 81.

Scott Drinkwater is Avila's top hitter, owning a .406 batting average. Daniel Wells is hitting .387, with 53 hits and 30 runs batted in. Chase Watt is third on the team with a .368 average.

Alex Towler owns a 3.86 earned run average among Avila pitchers, with a 3-2 record and 23 strikeouts. Tyler Burrow leads AU in strikeouts with 65.

Central Methodist currently ranks No. 9 in the nation in team batting average (.346) and slugging percentage (.534), No. 13 in runs batted in (376), No. 16 in total runs scored (406) and 28 in home runs per game (1.00).

HEART OF AMERICA ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
2017 POSTSEASON BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
at US Baseball Park, Ozark, Mo.
PLAY-IN ROUND
Thursday, May 4
Culver-Stockton College 14, Evangel University 13
Avila University 11, Graceland University 7
SECOND ROUND
Friday, May 5
GM 1: #1 Clarke University (42-10) vs. #8 Culver-Stockton College (27-27), 10 a.m.
GM 2: #4 Peru State College (32-18) vs. #5 Grand View University (28-21), 1 p.m.
GM 3: #2 Central Methodist University (39-13) vs. #7 Avila University (30-23), 4 p.m.
GM 4: #3 Benedictine College (33-20) vs. #6 MidAmerica Nazarene University (30-18), 7 p.m.
THIRD ROUND
Saturday, May 6
GM 5: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 10 a.m. (elimination game)
GM 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 1 p.m. (elimination game)
GM 7: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 4 p.m.
GM 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Sunday, May 7
GM 9: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7, 10 a.m. (elimination game)
GM 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 5, 1 p.m. (elimination game)
GM 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 4 p.m.
GM 12: Winner of Game 10 vs. Winner of Game 9, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1
Monday, May 8
GM 13: Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game12, 1 p.m.
GM 14: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 13, 4 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 (if necessary)
Tuesday, May 9
GM 15: If necessary, 1 p.m.

CMU Baseball Contact: John Krueger
Phone: 936-332-9332 | jkrueger@centralmethodist.edu
CMU Athletics: Twitter | Facebook
CMU Baseball: Twitter
Website: www.CMUEagles.com