The Central Methodist University baseball team was swept in its Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader at Benedictine College Friday afternoon. The Eagles lost 6-5 in game one and 11-5 in game two to the Ravens.
��
In the first game, Benedictine scored six runs in the first three innings to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Central Methodist was held to just two hits through the first six innings, but had five hits in a rally in the top of the seventh inning. Sophomore Steve Bazner (Waterford, Mich.) hit a double to lead off the seventh inning for the Eagles, and advanced to third on a single by sophomore Mike Allen (Mattawan, Mich.). Junior Dustin Ray (Boonville, Mo.) hit a two-RBI triple to left-center field to make it a 6-2 game. Senior Tyler Belt (Macon, Mo.) hit a ground ball to the shortstop to score Ray. With two outs, junior Matt Gessner (Lykens, Pa.) singled to left field, and senior Thomas Brown (Columbia, Mo.) reached base on a dropped fly ball, which advanced Gessner to third base. Junior Raymond Fuentes Jr. (Isabela, Puerto Rico) doubled to right field to score Gessner and Brown, but the CMU rally ended as the Eagles came up short in the 6-5 loss. Junior Freddie Cabrera (Isabela, Puerto Rico) pitched the complete game for Central Methodist, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits, while striking out four.
���
Benedictine scored eight runs on 11 hits in the first three innings of game two. Central Methodist got a run in the top of the third when Belt singled, junior Brennen Wood (West Plains, Mo.) followed with a double, and Gessner hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Belt from third. Trailing 8-1, CMU strung together five straight hits in the top of the fourth to score four runs. Senior Adam Arnette (Pacific, Mo.) hit a one-out double. Allen, Bazner, and Ray each hit singles. Belt followed with a three-RBI double to deep right-center to cut the Ravens' lead to 8-5. Benedictine scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 10-5, and added its 11th run in the bottom of the sixth. CMU was held hitless through the remainder of the game. Sophomore Carter DeMay (St. Peters, Mo.) took the loss for Central Methodist, allowing eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings, while striking out two. Junior AJ Pfeifer (Godfrey, Ill.) and freshman Rhett Quinlan (Boonville, Mo,) each pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief for the Eagles. Pfeifer allowed two earned runs on four hits, while Quinlan gave up one run on two hits.
���
Central Methodist dropped to 4-11 on the season and 1-3 in the HAAC with the losses. Benedictine improved to 6-7 overall and 2-0 in the conference. CMU has another conference doubleheader Saturday as the Eagles travel to Baldwin City, Kan., to face Baker University. Game one is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.