Fayette, Mo. – The Central Methodist Baseball program capped a four-game sweep of Park University, Saturday afternoon, using an extra innings win in the opener followed by an offensive barrage in the finale to defeat the Pirates 6-5 in eight innings and 16-6 at home.
The pair of victories pushed the Eagles to 13-8 overall and 4-0 in the Heart of America. Park drops to 8-11 and 0-4 in conference action.
Game 1: Central Methodist 6 - Park 5 (8 innings)
Central Methodist erased an early deficit and walked it off in extra innings to claim the opener.
Park jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first on a three-run home run.
The Eagles answered in the fifth inning, rallying for four runs to take their first lead of the game. Gavin Whitehurst delivered a two-RBI single to score Jordan Vazquez and Landon McKillip, while Joshua Smith later crossed the plate on a catcher's error to tie the contest. Dariel Rios then ripped an RBI triple to center field, bringing home Ryan Malzahn and giving CMU a 4-3 advantage.
Park tied the game in the sixth on an RBI single before Central briefly regained the lead when Malzahn drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-4.
The Pirates forced extra innings in the seventh after scoring on a wild pitch to even the score at 5-5.
CMU ended the game in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded, Rios was hit by a pitch, forcing in McKillip for the walk-off run and a 6-5 Eagles' victory.
Rios finished with two RBI, while Whitehurst drove in two and Malzahn added an RBI with two hits. Vazquez went two-for-three with two walks and a run scored.
Jeremy Yanow earned the win on the mound, tossing eight innings while allowing five runs (four earned) with four strikeouts.
Game 2: Central Methodist 16 - Park 6
The Eagles' offense exploded in the second game, highlighted by a massive eight-run third inning and four home runs.
Central struck first in the opening frame when Rios blasted a three-run homer to left field to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead.
After adding another run in the second, Central broke the game open in the third. Zeb Wede started the scoring with an RBI single, and Justin Smith followed with a two-run home run. Later in the inning, Whitehurst drove in another run before Malzahn crushed a grand slam to center field, capping the eight-run frame and giving CMU a 12-0 advantage.
Park rallied for six runs in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 12-6, but the Eagles responded immediately. Whitehurst homered in the bottom of the fifth, and CMU tacked on three more runs in the sixth to close out the 16-6 win.
Whitehurst led the offense with three hits, three RBI, and three runs scored, while Malzahn drove in five runs. Rios added three RBI, and Smith finished with a two-run homer. Wede also recorded two hits and an RBI.
On the mound, Alexander Gryckiewicz picked up the win in relief after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings.
Central Methodist finished the day with 22 hits across the two games and swept the four-game series against the Pirates.
Up Next:
Central heads out on the road for a four-game series against Baker University beginning Saturday, March 21st in Baldwin City, Kansas. First pitch of game one is set for 1:00 p.m.
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