Ozark, Mo. — No. 7 seed CMU saw its season come to a close Saturday, falling 8–7 to No. 4 seed Clarke in an elimination game at the Heart of America Conference Tournament.

Clarke built an early cushion and survived a furious late rally by the Eagles, ultimately walking it off in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch.

Central found itself in an early hole as Clarke plated four runs in the first inning and added another in the second. The Pride extended their lead to 7–0 through five innings behind timely hitting.

CMU chipped away late, breaking through in the sixth inning when Joshua Smith delivered a sacrifice fly to score Gavin Whitehurst. Central Methodist continued to close the gap in the eighth, using sacrifice flies from Dariel Rios and Smith, along with an RBI single from Smith, to make it 7–3.

The ninth inning provided the drama.

Trailing by four, Central mounted a rally as Jordan Vazquez tripled down the right-field line to bring in two runs. Whitehurst followed with an RBI single, and with the bases loaded, Smith was hit by a pitch to tie the game at 7–7.

Clarke answered in the bottom half. A pair of baserunners moved into scoring position before a wild pitch allowed the winning run to cross the plate, ending the game.

Whitehurst led Central offensively, going three-for-five with three runs scored and an RBI. Vazquez added two hits, including a triple, while Smith drove in three runs.

On the mound, Whitehurst started and allowed five runs over 3.2 innings. Nicholas Neighbours provided 3.1 innings of relief, and Vince Ray tossed a scoreless frame followed by Chase Schnieders.

Central finishes the year with a 28-22 overall record and a 16-12 mark in the Heart of America.

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