Peosta, Iowa - The No. 24 Central Methodist Baseball program took the first two games of their four-game series against Clarke Friday afternoon in Peosta, Iowa.
CMU mounted a comeback in the first game to secure a 3-2 win in eight innings. Central never trailed in the second, defeating the Pride, 6-2.
The Eagles now stand at 16-8 and 10-4 in the Heart of America. Clarke falls to 11-12 and 5-5 in conference action.
Game 1: No. 24 CMU 3 - Clarke 2
After a pitcher's duel through the first two and a half innings, the Pride got on the board first thanks to a one-out sacrifice fly to score one.
The Eagles trailed by one until the top of the fifth inning when they pushed across two runs to gain a 2-1 advantage.
With Gavin Whitehurst at second and Dominick Proctor at first after consecutive walks, Valentin Cerna Jr. singled to left. On the same play, Whitehurst came around to score after a Pride defensive miscue.
Kyle Williams brought in the second run after a fielding error by the Pride's second baseman.
In the bottom of the sixth, Clarke tied the game at 2-2 on a single back up the middle.
In the seventh, the Eagles had a runner on base but weren't able to capitalize. Clarke went down in one-two-three fashion in the bottom half to push the game to extra innings.
Ryan Malzahn began the eighth with a double down the left field line.
With two down, Whitehurst connected on a double right center, bringing in Malzahn and giving Central a 3-2 lead.
With one away, Clarke had the tying run at first. Landon Winingham got the second out on a fielder's choice to get the lead runner out at third. The final out came as Tanner Sears threw the runner out going from first to second, sealing CMU's extra innings win.
Foster Seitz was the starting pitcher for the Eagles, throwing seven strong innings while allowing just two runs on five hits. The right-hander issued three free passes and struck out four batters for his fifth win of the year.
Winingham picked up the save, his third of 2025.
Game 2: No. 24 CMU 6 - Clarke 2
CMU wasted no time scoring runs in the second game after five runs in the first inning.
With two away and Cerna Jr. safely at first after on an error, Malzahn hit a two-run home run to right center field, his fourth of the year.
Carlos Negron showcased his power, homering to right field and giving CMU a 3-0 lead.
Still in the first, and with Darius Freeman and Whitehurst both reaching base on walks, Zeb Wede singled to left to make it a 4-0 game. A balk by the Pride's pitcher scored Whitehurst from third for the fifth run of the inning.
Clarke scored two runs in the bottom of the third to trim CMU's lead to 5-2.
Central added one more to their tally in the fifth courtesy of a double from Freeman to left center to score Malzahn.
Eagles' starter, Cesar Morales, finished off his complete game, tossing three straight scoreless innings to give Central their 10th conference victory.
Overall, the junior allowed just two runs on five hits, while walking four and striking out seven in seven innings of work.
The Eagles will complete their four-game series against the Pride Saturday, March 22. First pitch of game three is set for 1:00 p.m.
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