Lakeland, Fla. - The Central Methodist Baseball program saw its season come to a close in the Opening Round of the Lakeland Bracket Tuesday in Lakeland, Florida.
After the tournament was delayed due to weather, Central got on the diamond with a morning matchup against No. 3 Arizona Christian.
Central jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single from Gavin Whitehurst and an RBI double from Dominick Proctor.
The Firestorm tied the the game with a pair of runs in the top of the third, before a sacrifice fly from Whitehurst plated Kyle Williams to put Central out in front 3-2.
A solo home run from the Firestorm tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the fourth.
CMU continued to answer, as senior Dominick Proctor hit his second home run of the year to right center to give CMU a 4-3 lead.
With the bases loaded, a catcher's interference plated David Soriano and a walk from Tanner Sears stretched Central's lead to 6-3.
ACU responded with four runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to jump out in front, 9-6.
The Eagles were looking to rally, and began their quest in the bottom of the eighth. A Darius Freeman groundout scored Blake Anderson, followed by a single from Proctor to score Whitehurst cut the deficit to 9-8.
However, Central was unable to manufacture any more runs, as ACU went on to earn the one-run victory.
Proctor had a tremendous day at the dish, batting a perfect four-for-four with a walk, two singles, a double, a solo home run and three RBI.
Soriano picked up three hits in four-at bats while drawing one walk. Both Whitehurst and Carlos Negron tallied two hits, with Whitehurst also driving in two runs.
Foster Seitz got the start on the bump, tossing five and one third innings. Nicholas Neighbours came in relief, throwing the final three and two thirds innings.
Central then moved to the elimination bracket where they would face No. 4 seeded Abraham Baldwin later that evening.
Trailing 2-0 in the second, CMU tied the game with back-to-back RBI ground outs from Zeb Wede and Proctor.
It was all ABAC from there on out, as the Stallions scored runs in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings to come away with a 12-2 win over the Eagles.
Despite drawing eight walks in the game, Central scored just two runs on four hits in the loss.
Williams, Negron, Soriano, and Proctor all collected a hit for CMU.
Cesar Morales started the game, throwing five complete innings. Landon Winingham, Vince Ray, and Alfred Ulloa all saw action on the bump as well.
CMU sees its season come to a close with a 35-15 record, which included conference tournament title and their ninth straight trip to the national tournament.
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