Fayette, Mo. - The Central Methodist Baseball program took the first two games of its weekend series against Baker University Saturday afternoon at Estes Field.
Central now stands at 9-7 and 3-3 in the Heart, while BU is 7-7 and 4-2 in conference action.
Game 1: No. 23 CMU 27 - Baker 3
The Eagles' offense started quickly, exploding for 15 runs in the opening inning.
A single by Ryan Malzahn got the scoring started for CMU, and with Central leading 5-0, Zeb Wede hit a three-run bomb to push the lead to eight.
Carlos Negron also had a blast in his second at bat of the opening frame. The Puerto Rico native connected on a grand slam to push across four more runs, making it a 13-0 game for CMU.
Central added two more runs to close out the inning.
In the bottom of the second, Darius Freeman singled up the middle, adding one more run on the board.
Kyle Williams and Tanner Sears both added one RBI to their portfolio in the third to extend Central's lead to 18-0. Negron showcased his power again in the fourth by hitting his second home run of the day.
Baker was able to break through with a couple runs in the top of the fifth, followed by one in the sixth.
CMU would close out the first game by scoring four more in the bottom of the sixth to solidify a 27-3 win.
Foster Seitz was the winning pitcher, going six strong innings while allowing seven hits, three runs, while striking out five.
Negron finished game one batting five-for-six with three home runs while driving in eight total runners.
Game 2: No. 23 CMU 9 - Baker 8
The Wildcats had a better start to the second game of the doubleheader, taking a one-run lead after the top of the first on a solo homerun.
Freeman, however, made sure to give Central the lead, blasting a grand slam to put the Eagles out in front 4-1. The Wildcats kept pace with CMU, scoring two in the second to cut their deficit down to just one.
But in the bottom of the second, Williams got one back for Central off a solo bomb to left field.
The following inning Negron recorded his fourth home run of the day to give the Eagles a three-run lead.
After pushing across two more in the fifth, Baker was down to their final three outs heading into the seventh. But BU managed to take a two run lead on a three-run homreun and were just three outs away from their fifth conference victory.
Sears answered the call for Central, hitting a two-run home run to left field to tie the game at 8-8.
In extras, Sears took care of business again, singling to the right side to score Williams in walk-off fashion.
Sears went three-for-five with three RBI while Freeman batted three-for-four with four RBI.
Sears was also the winning pitcher, throwing two innings and allowing three runs on two hits.
Up Next:
Central will close out the series against Baker with two more games Sunday, March 9 at Estes Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
#TakeFlight
