Fayette, Mo. - The No. 24 Central Methodist Baseball program took three of four games over William Penn University this weekend at Estes Field.
Central split the first day with the Statesmen, winning game one 14-5 before falling in game two 10-9. The Eagles concluded the weekend with back-to-back wins Saturday, defeating WPU 10-8 in game three, followed by a 17-12 victory in the finale.
As a result of this weekend's series, Central now stands at 20-10 and 14-6 in the Heart of America. William Penn drops to 14-14 and 7-9 in conference action.
Game 1: No. 24 CMU 14 - William Penn 5
After a quick one-two-three inning with two strikeouts by Foster Seitz, the Eagles' offense came to work in the bottom of the first to take a four-run lead.
Tanner Sears brought home the first run, scoring Kyle Williams all the way from second on a single up the middle. After a Ryan Malzahn double and two outs in the inning, Darius Freeman switched places with Malzahn at second with a two-run two-bagger. Gavin Whitehurst immediately followed up with a single for Central's fourth run of the inning.
The Statesmen got one back in the third, followed by one more in the next inning. However, CMU put up two runs in the fourth courtesy of back-to-back home runs from David Soriano and Zeb Wede.
Central scored two additional runs in the fifth thanks to an RBI double by Whitehurst and an RBI single by Wede.
With an 8-3 advantage in the sixth, Central continued to pile on to their lead with six additional runs, making it a 14-3 ballgame.
The Statesmen scored two in the top of the seventh but fell short of a comeback as the Eagles took game one, 14-5.
Seitz improved to 6-2 on the mound. The right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out seven.
Whitehurst stood out at the plate, going three-for-four with three RBI.
Game 2: William Penn 10 - No. 24 CMU 9
The Statesmen were in pursuit of some payback in game two. They wasted no time getting their bats going, scoring seven runs in the opening frame.
Central got on the scoreboard in the second inning, as Whitehurst picked up his fourth RBI of the day, followed by a Wede left-field double to bring in Whitehurst from second.
After the Statesmen took a 10-2 lead in the third, the Eagles started their pursuit of a comeback in the fifth.
Valentin Cerna Jr. drove in the third Eagles' run on his first base hit of the day, while Malzahn drove Cerna Jr. home to make it a 10-4 game.
The big blast of the inning came off the bat of Carlos Negron, who sent a two-RBI no-doubter over the right field fence.
With the game now at 10-6 in favor of WPU in the sixth, a Cerna Jr. single brought home Dominick Proctor to cut the deficit to three. Sears joined Central's home run efforts, leaving the yard with Cerna Jr. at second to put his team down by just one.
Nicholas Neighbours made quick work of the Statesmen in the seventh, giving the Eagles' bats a chance to do the spectacular in the bottom half.
Unfortunately, Central retired after just three batters came to the plate, resulting in WPU's first victory at Estes Field in over a decade.
Neighbours came in relief and threw four exceptional innings. The right-hander gave up just one hit and one walk while sitting down eight via strikeout.
Game 3: No. 24 CMU 10 - William Penn 8
William Penn took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning off a couple of base hits.
Central held their own in the bottom of the inning, quickly tying this up at 3-3 as Cerna Jr., Williams, and Malzahn all touched home plate.
Cerna Jr. then scored for the second time in as many innings to give CMU a 4-3 lead, this time on a wild pitch by the Statesmen's starter.
The visitors took a 6-4 lead in the middle innings, but in the bottom of the fifth, Darius Freeman pushed home Negron from third on a ground ball to second base, cutting Central's deficit down to just one.
The Statesmen's lead increased to 8-5, and the Eagles down to their final six outs.
Central was determined to pick up their second win of the series, and they did so, thanks to the long ball.
Proctor and Cerna Jr. both went yard with no one on base to cut the lead to one.
The game-changing swing came off the bat of Negron, who blasted a three-run home run to left center field, putting the Eagles up 10-8.
With one away in the seventh, William Penn had a runner on base, but Landon Winingham struck out the final two batters to pick up the save and the two-run victory for Central.
Game 4: No. 24 CMU 17 - William Penn 12
For the third straight game, the Statesmen jumped out to an early first-inning lead, this time 5-0 after the top half.
Cerna Jr. drew a walk to begin the Eagles offensive half and, after advancing to second on a wild pitch, came around to score on a single from Williams back up the middle.
The Eagle's bats exploded in the second, scoring double-digit runs to claim an 11-5 advantage. Freeman, Sears, and Malzahn all went yard in the inning.
William Penn had no problem putting up runs, adding five to their tally in the fourth. The Eagles still held an 11-10 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Williams extended Central's lead to two off an RBI single.
The Statesmen continued to battle back, but Central's offense held its own. CMU scored two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to take game four of the series, 17-12.
Sears, who started out catching game four, switched to pitching in the middle frames. The senior tossed four complete innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out three for his third win on the bump this year. He also helped out his own cause, finishing the day batting two-for-three with two home runs and driving in five RBI.
Cerna Jr. had a great game as the leadoff hitter, batting two-for-two while drawing a pair of walks. He drove in three runners and crossed the plate three times himself.
Up Next:
Central will travel to Ottawa, Kansas, for a three-game non-conference matchup against Ottawa. Friday's first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
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