Fayette, Mo. - The Central Methodist Baseball team opened its 2024 home slate with a 3-1 record this past weekend at Estes Field.
Central hosted two other teams in Hastings College out of Nebraska and Roosevelt University in Illinois.
Game 1: CMU 9 - Roosevelt 2
Trailing 2-0 early in the Saturday opener against Roosevelt, the Eagles plated three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead. The inning included a solo home run from David Soriano in the lead off spot, before Zeb Wede and Jeremy Conforti drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to put Central in front.
CMU added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Valentin Cerna Jr. to score Bobby Nichols from third. The offense exploded in the fifth, scoring five runs on six hits and capitizing on an error by the Lakers' defense.
The Eagles would bat around in the inning, as Carlos Negron led off with a solo home run to left center field. A ground out from Joseph Weatherford and back-to-back singles from Nichols and Cerna Jr. added three additional runs. Negron was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the final run of the inning.
Sebastian Escobar earned his third win of the year on the bump, tossing five complete innings and allowing just two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts.
Marcus Pritchard and Larry Riddle Jr. came in relief for an inning of work each to keep Roosevelt off the scoreboard.
Game 2: Hastings 8 - CMU - 6
Central looked to be cruising in their second game of the day against the Broncos, scoring four runs in the third inning. Following back-to-back outs, the Eagles reached base in their next four at-bats, with three of those resulting in home runs.
Nichols started the scoring with a solo homerun to right field, followed by a double from Cerna Jr. to right center. Tanner Sears then homered to left field before Negron capped the inning with solo shot to right center.
Hastings ultimately tied the game with a pair of runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings.
The Broncos offense came alive in the seventh, scoring four runs on three hits including a three-run home run.
Trailing 8-4 in the final inning, Central was able to cut into the deficit with a two-run homer from Peyton Becker to left center. However, CMU was unable to plate any more runs, as Hastings went on to earn the 8-6 victory.
Game 3: CMU 9 - Roosevelt 4
Central overcame a rough opening inning to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and four in the second. The second inning was highlighted by a three-run homer to right field from Sears.
A single from Weatherford in the third scored the Eagles' seventh run of the game. Roosevelt would cut the lead to 7-4 in the fifth before Central plated a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame to secure the 9-4 win.
Foster Seitz got the start on the bump, throwing five complete innings to earn his second win of the year. Alexander Billo and Justin Stedry each tossed an inning in the latter stages of the game.
Game 4: CMU 8 - Hastings 3
The Eagles responded to an early deficit over the Broncos in the finale, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. An RBI-double to left field from Sears scored Nichols. Negron then hit a three-run shot to left field to put Central out in front.
CMU plated a run in the second and two in the third to extend their lead to 7-2. Negron hit his second home run of the day in the bottom of the third, before an RBI double from Diego Da Rin scored Becker.
Central's final run of the day came on an error from the Hastings defense which allowed Nichols to score.
Clayton Burke recorded his second win of the year, throwing six innings and giving up three earned runs on eight hits while striking out nine batters.
Landon Winingham threw the final inning and recorded a strikeout to finish the game.
Up Next:
Central is now 8-2 through their first 10 games of 2024. The Eagles will remain at home to host the Midwest Madness Tournament beginning Thursday, Feb. 22 at Estes Field.
#TakeFlight
