St. Louis, Mo. - The No. 2 Central Methodist baseball team finished the weekend with a 2-1 record at the Clayton Pfeiffer Memorial Tournament, hosted by Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis.
The Eagles now stand at 14-3 entering conference play.
Central opened the tournament with a 7-0 shut out of Missouri Baptist Friday afternoon, using a five-run second inning to put the game out of reach early on.
Senior ace Nick Merkel pitched a gem on the mound, tossing a five-hit complete game. The senior from Spokane, Wash. didn't give up a single run and tallied 10 stikeouts, the second time he has recorded double-digit Ks this season.
Grant Victor and Bobby Nichols led the offense with two hits apiece. Nichols also drew two walks as did Tanner Sears. Robbie Merced hit his ninth home run of the season in the second inning.
The Eagles then fell in a close game against Saint Xavier Saturday, 7-6. Central held a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Cougars tied the game at 6-6 on a double. Saint Xavier took the victory after a wild pitch allowed the runner from third to dash home for the walk off win.
Jeff Vance picked up two hits and scored two runs, while Victor Plaz recorded an RBI-double. Cole Luedeking and Grant Victor each recorded RBI-singles.
Sebastian Escobar got the start on the bump, pitching 4.2 innings and giving up only two earned runs along with six strikeouts. Tyler Vicars came in relief for the next two innings, followed by Nino Puckett for the final two innings of work.
CMU concluded the tournament with a 5-2 victory over Missouri Baptist. The Eagles used a four-run third inning, highlighted by a grand slam from Merced, his 10th home run of 2022, to go out in front early. Luedeking drove a ball back up the middle in the fifth inning to score Gannon Ruckman.
Senior pitcher Beau Atkins recorded his second win of the year, tossing a complete game. The Riverton, Ill. native gave up only two earned runs on three hits along with seven strikeouts in the victory.
Central begins conference action against Graceland University Saturday, March 12 at 12:00 p.m. at Estes Field.
#TakeFlight
