Ozark, Mo. - The No. 3 seeded Central Methodist Baseball team picked up back-to-back wins over No. 2 MidAmerica Nazarene and No. 1 Grand View in Saturday's edition of the Heart of America Conference Tournament down in Ozark, Missouri.
Central cruised past the Pioneers in their first game by a final score of 21-8, followed by an 11-8 win over top-seeded Grand View in game two.
Game 1: CMU 21 - MNU 8
The Eagles wasted no time in claiming the lead, scoring four runs in the first inning.
Ryan Malzahn and Gavin Whitehurst both had RBI singles with Malzahn driving in one run and Whitehurst two.
MidAmerica answered back in the second inning with a run followed by four in the third to take a 5-4 lead.
In the top of the fourth, the lead shifted back to CMU as Kyle Williams blasted a two run home run.
Central then added two more runs in the inning to extend their lead to 8-5.
In the fifth, a Tanner Sears three-run home run to left pushed CMU's lead to 11-6.
The Pioneers pitching struggled to find the strike zone in the sixth inning, giving up two walks with the bases loaded as Central took a 13-7 lead.
In the bottom half, MidAmerica scored one run for the third consecutive inning.
The Eagles offense continued to shine with Carlos Negron and Dominick Proctor both going yard in the seventh as Central closed out a 21-8 victory.
Cesar Morales was the winning pitcher. The Eagles' starter allowed eight runs on 14 hits in his six innings of work while striking out five and walking two batters.
Nicholas Neighbours came in relief in the seventh and had no issues quieting down the Pioneers offense after his scoreless inning of work.
Central got production from all up and down the lineup, led by Darius Freeman who went a perfect six-for-six at the dish.
Malzhan, Sears, and Negron all picked up three hits, with Malzahn finishing the day with a double, a solo home run, and four RBI.
Sears also drove in four runs while hitting a three-run home run to left in the fifth. Both Negron and Kyle Williams also homered for the Eagles in the slug fest.
Game 2: CMU 11 - Grand View 8
The Vikings got on the board first, capitalizing on a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead.
Sears and the Eagles struck back quickly when the senior pushed a two-RBI double to left center field. Williams singled to right in the second to extend Central's lead to 3-1.
With the Eagles up 3-1 in the third, a Malzahn solo blast and a David Soriano three-run homer put CMU up 7-1.
After the Vikings added a run to their tally in the top of the fourth inning, Negron joined the home run parade giving Central a 9-2 lead.
With the Eagles now up 9-5, Malzahn captured his second home run of the day and fifth of the tournament to stretch the Eagles' lead to 11-5 in the bottom of the sixth.
Grand View continued chipping away at the deficit, scoring two runs in the seventh followed by one in the eight. However, Sears pitched the final inning to keep Grand View off the scoreboard and secure his second save of the year.
Additionally, Sears recorded his second multi-hit performance of the day, batting three-for-five with two RBI.
Both Williams and Malzahn each went two-for-four in the victory with Williams driving in one run and Malzahn three.
Nicholas Neighbours got the win on the mound for the Eagles, giving up five runs on 10 hits, and striking out four in six innings of work.
Up Next:
Central will find out who and when they will play after the first two games of the conference tournament are completed Sunday.
Central just needs one win to clinch its first Heart Baseball Tournament Championship since 2022.
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