Fayette, Mo. – Central Methodist baseball dropped both games of its Tuesday evening doubleheader against MidAmerica Nazarene at Estes Field, falling 11-10 in a back-and-forth opener before a 9-2 setback in the nightcap.

With the losses, the Eagles move to 21-14 overall and 10-6 in conference play, while the Pioneers improve to 15-22 overall and 7-9 in league action, securing a 3-1 series win.

Game 1: MidAmerica Nazarene 11 - Central Methodist 10

The opener featured a high-scoring affair with multiple momentum swings, as both teams combined for 21 runs on 18 hits.

After surrendering an unearned run in the first inning, Central answered with a three-run second. RBI singles from Landon McKillip and Dawson Foster, along with a run-scoring hit by Jordan Vazquez, gave the Eagles an early 3-1 advantage.

MidAmerica Nazarene responded decisively in the third, plating six runs highlighted by a three-run home run to take a 7-3 lead. CMU battled back with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning, trimming the deficit to 7-6.

The Pioneers extended their lead with a two-run homer in the fourth and another two-run blast in the fifth, making it 11-8. The Eagles continued to fight, scoring twice in the fifth to close within one at 11-10, but were unable to complete the comeback over the final two innings.

Ryan Malzahn led the Eagles offensively, going three-for-three with three runs scored, while McKillip drove in three runs. Foster added a pair of RBI in the effort. As a team, CMU drew 11 walks and collected 10 hits.

Game 2: MidAmerica Nazarene 9 - Central Methodist 2

In the nightcap, MidAmerica Nazarene used timely hitting and capitalized on Eagle miscues to complete the sweep of the day.

The game remained scoreless until the third inning when the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead. A decisive fifth inning saw MidAmerica Nazarene break the game open with a four-run frame, capped by a grand slam to extend the lead to 5-0.

CMU responded in the bottom half of the inning, as Vazquez delivered a two-run single to cut the deficit to 5-2. However, the Pioneers answered with four more runs in the sixth inning, aided by defensive errors, to put the game out of reach.

The Eagles were limited to just two hits in the contest, with Vazquez accounting for both RBI.

Up Next:

Central will look to bounce back with a four-game series against William Woods University beginning Friday, April 11 in Fulton, Mo.

First pitch for game one is set for 1:00 p.m.

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