Versailles, Mo. - The No. 10 Central Methodist baseball team opened the 2021 CMU Series with two wins this weekend, earning a 9-0 shutout over Olivet Nazarene Friday, followed by a 12-5 win over Bellevue Saturday night.
The four-team tournament featured; Bellevue, Central Methodist, Olivet Nazarene, and William Woods. Central improves its overall record to 9-1, their best start through the first 10 games of a season in 16 years.
In the opener of the series for CMU, junior pitcher Nick Merkel got the start on the bump, tossing five innings and giving up only one hit and two walks in the victory. The Spokane, Wash. native struck out seven batters, and now has a season ERA of 1.13 and a perfect 3-0 record.
After runs in the first and second innings, the CMU bats exploded for six runs in the third, pushing their lead to 8-0 over ONU. Central added one final run in the fifth to conclude the day with a 9-0 victory.
Logan McDonald batted a perfect three-for-three with a double and two runs scored. Deshawn Cole, Logan Haring, and Mason Schwellenbach each collected two hits, while Cole led the offense with three RBI including a solo home run on the first pitch of the game. Kenny Otero and Haring also fired off back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Saturday featured more of CMU's powerful offense, as the bats finished the day with eight home runs; three coming from Haring, two from Sergio Macias, Adrian Martinez, and one from Devon Garcia. Overall, Central's offense produced 12 runs on 11 hits, in the 12-5 win over the Bruins. The three home runs for Haring are also a new career-high, as his previous best was two against Doane on March 3, 2018.
Otero also served as the Eagles' starter on the mound, pitching 6.1 innings and allowing four runs, on four hits with two walks. He also recorded eight strikeouts.
Through two games, Central has outscored its opponents, 21-5, including 25 hits compared to nine for the opposition.
The Eagles conclude the CMU Series with a doubleheader against William Woods Sunday, Feb. 28 with the first pitch set for 2:00 p.m. in Versailles, Mo.
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