Fayette, Mo. - The Central Methodist Baseball team split their first two games on the road against Culver-Stockton Saturday afternoon in Canton, Missouri.
With the split, Central now stands at 12-8 and 6-4 in the Heart of America. Culver is currently 7-11 and 1-5 in conference play.
Game 1 - CMU: 5 - CS-C: 2
The Eagles got the scoring started in the first inning, as Valentin Cerna Jr. led off with a double to center field.
After advancing to third on a Kyle Williams ground ball, a hit from Tanner Sears drove in Cerna Jr. from third. With two away and Sears now at second, Carlos Negron notched the third base hit of the inning to make it 2-0 in favor of CMU.
In the top of the third, Williams scored from third on an error by the Wildcats' third baseman.
In the bottom half, CS-C made up for the defensive miscue with a triple to left center field that drove in two, cutting Central's lead to 3-2.
Both teams went blank through the middle innings, but the Eagles added to their lead in the seventh.
They added two more in the final frame, highlighted by a double steal resulting in Aaron Guess Jr. scoring from third. On the same play, Ryan Malzahn ultimately reached third after stealing second and advancing 90 feet on an error by Culver's infield.
Negron capped the inning with an RBI-double to left field to score Malzahn.
Seitz secured his fourth win of the year, tossing his second complete game. He gave up two runs on seven hits, issued one free pass, and retired six batters.
Game 2: - CS-C 4 - CMU 3
The Eagles put up two runs in the opening frame for the second straight game. With the bases loaded and one away, Negron started the scoring on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded to plate Williams.
Right after, Darius Freeman singled to short, extending Central's lead to 2-0.
In the bottom of the third, the Wildcats broke loose, scoring four runs on six hits to take a 4-2 advantage.
Central got one run back in the following frame as Freeman came in to score on a David Soriano grounder to short.
In the final three innings, the pitching took care of the rest, with only one hit for both teams coming across in those frames.
CS-C held Central off the scoreboard to secure a 4-3 win and a day one split.
Cesar Morales got the start on the bump for the Eagles, throwing a complete game and striking out six batters in the narrow loss.
Up Next:
Central will close the four-game series against the Wildcats on Monday, March 17, with a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. Due to weather conditions, the doubleheader was rescheduled from Sunday.
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