Ozark, Mo. - The No. 3 Central Methodist baseball team held off No. 1 MNU in the second championship game of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament by a score of 4-3 Tuesday afternoon in Ozark, Mo.
With the victory, Central claims its second consecutive Heart Tournament title, improving its overall record to 42-13.
The Pioneers struck first with two runs in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. CMU would answer in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs to even the game at 2-2. With runners on the corners with one out, a wild pitch from MNU's pitcher allowed Robbie Merced to scamper home from third and Tanner Sears to second.
Following a walk from Jeff Vance and a hit-by-pitch to Grant Victor, Khalil Thrasher hit a groundout to second base to score Sears from third.
CMU would strike again in the seventh inning, beginning with an RBI double down the left-field line to score Josh Green. Bobby Nichols followed with a single to right field to score McDonald, giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead.
MidAmerica would threaten in the top of the eighth inning and looked poised to chip away Central's lead. With runners at first and second, a single down the left-field line from MNU's Randy Fernandez appeared to be enough to score Josh Hinojos from second. But an incredible throw from Central left fielder Logan McDonald was right on target to cut Fernandez down at home, preserving the two-run lead.
MNU battled back in the ninth, scoring one run on a double down the right-field line. Following an error by the CMU defense, the Pioneers had a chance to take the lead with runners at second and third with two outs. However, senior pitcher Beau Atkins struck out Joshuan Sandoval to clinch Central's second straight tourney title.
Senior ace Nick Merkel earned his 11th win of the year, throwing seven complete innings and giving up just two earned runs on four hits. He also struck out nine batters.
Atkins earned his second save of the year, pitching two complete innings with two strikeouts.
For their efforts in the tournament, Merced, Tommaso Giarola, Nichols, Atkins, and Nick Merkel were named to the 2022 Heart Baseball All-Tournament Team. Merced and Merkel were also named Heart Tournament Co-MVPs.
CMU will now wait to see where they will play in the Opening Round of the 2022 NAIA Baseball National Championship. The national championship field will be revealed Thursday, May 12 at 4:00 p.m. (CST) on the NAIA YouTube page.
⚾️, It's a dog pile in Springfield! Central holds on to defeat MNU, 4-3 to claim their second straight @HeartSportsNews Tournament Title! #GoGreen��⚪️ pic.twitter.com/yrdcZ92vRc
— CMU Athletics (@cmueagles) May 10, 2022
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