Canton, Mo. - In a rescheduled finale Monday, the Central Methodist Baseball team showed off their offensive power, manufacturing double-digit runs in their final two games against Culver-Stockton in Canton.
Central defeated Culver in the third game of the series, 11-7, before winning a wild game four, 17-13.
The Eagles secured a 3-1 series win and now improve to 14-8 and 8-4 in the Heart of America. CS-C falls to 7-13 and 1-7 in conference action.
Game 3: CMU 11 - CSC 7
After a scoreless first inning, the Wildcats got the scoring started in the second with a two-run home run.
The Eagles struck in the fourth after a four-run inning to take a 4-2 lead. Carlos Negron doubled down the left-field line to get the Eagles on the board. Darius Freeman and Dominick Proctor each drove in a runner, right after Ryan Malzahn scored on a wild pitch.
With no one away and Kyle Williams at second, Tanner Sears hit his third home run of the season to right center.
Central held a 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
The Wildcats wasted no time getting back into the game, scoring two runs thanks to a defensive miscue by CMU's infield to tie the game at 6-6.
In the top of the sixth, Sears drove in Aaron Guess Jr. on a sacrifice fly to center field for his third RBI of the day.
Negron tallied his second RBI of the game on a single to the left side to score Blake Anderson from third.
Culver kept pace with the Eagles, cutting the deficit to one heading into the final inning. However, CMU's offense held their own, scoring three more in the top half courtesy of a three-run home run by Kyle Williams to seal the win.
Marcos Lopez got the nod for CMU on the mound, throwing four and two-thirds while allowing six runs on seven hits and striking out two.
Landon Winingham earned the win after coming in relief for the final two and a third innings of work. He gave up just one run while striking out three.
Game 4: CMU 17 - CSC 13
The final game of the series was a slugfest, with CMU getting the party started early with seven runs in the first inning.
Sears brought home the opening tally off a double. Later in the inning, Williams, Peyton Becker, Malzahn, Negron, and Freeman all touched home plate to give Central a seven-run lead.
The Wildcats had hot bats themselves, answering with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
In the top of the second, Freeman homered to extend CMU's lead, while Malzahn drove in three more in the third.
With the Wildcats down 11-4, they scored five in the third, followed by a solo home run in the fourth to come within one of the Eagles at 11-10.
More offense was in play for CMU, as one more run scored off Malzahn, while Negron connected on a two-RBI double to put Central's lead at 14-10.
In the bottom of the fifth, Culver-Stcokton got back within a run, but the Eagle bats were too much to contain after getting three more runs in the sixth to close out a 17-13 victory.
Alfred Ulloa picked up the win, tossing two and a third innings.
Tyler Coakley earned the save, throwing a perfect two innings while facing the minimum.
Up Next:
Central will travel to Peosta, Iowa, to face Clarke University for a weekend series beginning on Friday, March 21, at 1:00 p.m.
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