OZARK, Mo. – Central Methodist University baseball forced the first extra-inning showing in their No. 2 seed debut at the 2019 Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. The squad squared off against No. 7-seeded Mount Mercy on Thursday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles trailed by one and remained scoreless until the fifth inning when a shallow single down the leftfield line plated the first run. A sacrifice fly to center from Riley Richarz (SR/Milwaukee, Wis.) and a double from Sergio Macias (JR/Laredo, Tex.) would bring home two more. The Mustangs responded with one run on a sacrifice fly to center.
In the sixth inning, Jose Mieses (JR/Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic) earned an RBI on a single up the middle to put Central ahead by two. They maintained the lead until the bottom of the seventh when the Mustangs tied it up with an RBI single and a homerun.
Both teams struggled to register a hit in the 8th and 9th frame, forcing extra play with a 4-4 tie after regulation. Adrian Martinez (SO/Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) got the winning run on base with a single to shallow right before Edward Nunez-Beltre (SR/Azua, Dominican Republic) entered to pinch run in his place. Logan Haring (JR/DeKalb, Ill.) had a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second, followed by a ground out from Z Westley (JR/Midland, Mich.) that put the winning run on third.
Aneudy DeLaCruz (SR/Brooklyn, N.Y.) reached on a walk, followed by Mieses who was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With the bases loaded and two outs, Max McCay (JR/Carlisle, Iowa) stepped up to the plate. McCay laid off a pair of two high pitches late in the count to take a walk that would plate the winning run.
Macias got the win at the mound after tossing two innings, surrendering one hit but giving up no runs. Tyler Robbins (JR/Bay City, Mich.) stepped in to pick up the save after striking out two of the four batters faced. Mason Schwellenbach (JR/Saginaw, Mich.) got the start on the rubber and tossed seven innings but did not factor into the decision. He retired eight batters, scattering eight hits and allowing four earned runs.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will face Clarke University tomorrow (Friday) evening for the next round of play in the championship bracket, weather permitting. The game is currently scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM. For more information, head to the Tournament Central page.
