Des Moines, Iowa - No. 6 CMU Baseball split the first doubleheader of its four-game weekend series against Grand View by scores of 7-2 and 1-0 Friday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa. 

The Eagles now stand at 28-7 and 14-4 in the Heart of America, while Grand View moves to 17-12 and 8-8 in conference action. 

Central struggled in the opener, as Grand View plated seven runs on 10 hits and four walks. The Eagles' defense also committed two errors which led to two unearned runs for the Vikings. 

CMU scored the first run of the game, as Carlos Negron doubled to right field to drive in Valentin Cerna Jr. Tanner Sears plated Central's second and final run in the top of the fifth on a sacrfice fly to centerfield, scoring David Soriano. 

Leading 3-2 entering the bottom half of the inning, Grand View put the game away with two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to secure a five-run victory. 

Game two was a pitcher's duel from beginning to end, as the game remained scoreless heading into extra innings. Sebastian Escobar got the start on the bump, tossing nine complete innings and allowing no runs on five hits. 

The senior also struck out a career-high 12 batters while giving up just one walk in the no-decision. 

The lone run of the game came in the top of the 11th inning. After retiring the first two Eagles consecutively, Grand View's pitcher hit Soriano to put a runner on first. 

Brennan Theisman came in to pinch hit and singled to center to put two on with two outs. Central returned to the top of the order where senior Bobby Nichols had the opportunity to plate a run with a hit. 

The native of Detroit, Michigan delivered as he singled to centerfield to score Soriano from second. 

Larry Riddle Jr. came in relief for the final two innings of work, preserving the shut out and striking out two batters. He would earn the win to improve his 2024 record to 4-1. 

Central will play two more against the Vikings to close out the series beginning Saturday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m. in Des Moines. 

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