MNU won the first two Heart contests of the season with a 5-2 and 17-11 double header sweep of Central Methodist on Wednesday. In Game 1, MNU scored first in the bottom of the second, then opened it up in the third. Back-to-back singles from Jordan Eckley and Logan Tills followed by a couple of CMU errors and a wild pitch brought home 2. Jeremie Gonzalez singled home another, and MNU led 4-0. A Brandon Marrero triple was follow by an Eckley sac fly in the fifth, and starting pitcher Phil Graham took the 5-0 lead into the seventh. CMU finally got on the board with a 2-run triple with 2 outs in the seventh, but Graham was able to finish the game win a 5-2 victory. Graham struck out 6 for his 4th win of the season. And Logan Tills (2-3, R) and Lenzie Foley (2-3) had 2 hits apiece.Game 2 was scheduled for 9 innings and the Pioneers led throughout. Two in the first and 1 in the second gave MNU a 3-0 lead, but CMU answered with 2 in the third. With 2 outs and a man on in the bottom of the third, the Pioneers blew it open. Three straight singles knocked out the CMU starter, and the reliever was greeting with a
Christian Quinones 2-run double and a
Jordan Eckley 2-run homer. MNU led 9-2, but the Eagles didn't go quietly. CMU scored 1 in the fourth and 4 in the fifth to get back in it, but a
Jason Jones grand slam pushed the lead back to 14-7 in the bottom of the fifth. CMU scored 4 again in the sixth, but Jones answered with a 2-run shot in the seventh to put the game away.
Jeremie Gonzalez picked up the win in relief. And
Jordan Eckley (5-6, 3 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI),
Logan Tills (2-4, 2 R, RBI),
Jason Jones (4-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, HBP),
Lenzie Foley (3-4, 3 R, RBI, BB), and
Christian Quinones (4-5, 3 R, 2B, 3 RBI) led the offense.
#9 MNU is 17-1 (2-0 Heart). The next double header is at Culver-Stockton (8-13, 2-0) on Saturday at 1:00.
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