After opening the season with two wins and two losses on February 1 and 2, the No. 14 Central Methodist baseball team swept the fifth annual Cajun Collision with four straight wins on Friday and Saturday in Sterlington, Louisiana.

Central shut out each of its first two opponents of the tourney, beginning with a 9-0 win over Louisiana Christian, followed by a 6-0 victory against No. 22 Tabor College.

The win against the Bluejays also marked 400 career wins for head coach Nate Breland, who has averaged nearly 43 wins in each of the last four seasons leading the Eagles. His total win-loss record now stands at 402-178.

Game 1: 

CMU 9

Louisiana Christian 0

Cesar Morales got the start on the mound for CMU. The 6-1 right-hander went five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and four walks while striking out six. 

Nicholas Neighbours pitched the final two innings in relief, allowing just two hits with one strikeout.

Central plated the first run of the game in the second inning, as Darius Freeman singled and then advanced to second on an error to put CMU in scoring position. He was driven home on a triple by David Soriano for the first run of the afternoon.

The CMU bats came alive in the bottom of the third, scoring seven runs to all but put the game out of reach.

Ryan Malzahn laid down a two-RBI single, followed by Freeman with an RBI single to left. The big hit of the inning came from Zeb Wede, who connected on a grand slam to put the Eagles in front 8-0.

Wede added one more RBI to his credit after a sacrifice fly to center field scored Freeman in the fifth.

Central finished the game with nine hits total and took advantage of four miscues by Louisiana Christian to seal their first victory of the day. 

Game 2: 

CMU 6

Tabor 0

The offense continued to be just as impressive in the Eagles’ second game of the day against nationally-ranked Tabor, wasting no time to get the first two runs across in the bottom of the first.

With runners on first and second, Malzahn singled to right to bring Valentin Cerna Jr. in from second and advancing Kyle Williams to third. Two batters later, Freeman flied out to center field to bring in the second run of the game.

Pitching for both teams proved to be strong throughout the middle innings, with neither able to cash in any runs until the bottom of the sixth when Central scored four to extend the lead.

Freeman continued to have himself a day, notching his first home run of the tournament to right field.

Two batters later, Jack Prewett followed with a three-run bomb to right to push the lead to 6-0.

Senior Foster Seitz tossed a gem as the right-hander threw a complete-game shutout. He allowed just four hits and one walk and matched his CMU career best with nine strikeouts.

Game 3: 

CMU 14

IU-Kokomo 10

On Saturday, the Eagles wasted no time getting on the board, putting up three runs in the first inning, followed by three more in the second. But it would take extra innings to pull off the victory.

Tanner Sears drove in the opening run with a single to right field to score Valentin Cerna Jr. from second and advance Kyle Williams 90 feet to third.

With one away and Sears now at second after a stolen base, Carlos Negron delivered the fourth base hit of the inning, pushing across two more runs to give Central a 3-0 advantage.

Marcos Lopez got the nod on the bump against the Cougars. The right-hander went four-and-a-third innings, in which he surrendered four runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

IU-K got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, plating two runs to cut Central’s lead to 6-2. 

The Cougars would go on to tie the game at six runs apiece in the following inning after bringing four runners home.

In the top of the sixth, the Eagles regained the lead on a two-run home run by Sears to right center field.

Kokomo’s bats continued to have answers however, pushing across four more in the bottom half.

Trailing 10-8 and down to its final three outs, CMU mounted a comeback in the top of the seventh. With Carlos Negron on first, Darius Freeman singled to third to put runners at first and second with no outs. Two batters later, Jack Prewett hit a bases-clearing double to left-center to tie the game at 10-10. 

Sears held the Cougars scoreless in the bottom half of the seventh to keep the game tied, giving the Eagles a chance to reclaim their lead in extras.

Negron was up to the task, connecting on a three-run blast to left field in the top of the eighth. 

Two batters later, Zeb Wede put the finishing touches on the inning with a solo shot to right center field. 

Sears closed the game out in the bottom of the eighth, retiring three-of-four Cougar batters to secure the win.

Central pushed across 14 runs total on 12 hits, while IU Kokomo drove in 10 runs on 13 hits.

Game 4: 

CMU 7

Science & Arts of Oklahoma 6

Central’s bats remained hot going into the finale against the Drovers. The Eagles jumped ahead early, plating four runs in the top of the first. 

Prewett brought home the first run with a base hit to right field to score Williams from third. Negron then connected on a three-run homer, pushing CMU’s lead to four. 

After a scoreless bottom half, the Drovers cut Central’s lead in half, plating two runs in the second inning.

The Eagles responded in the next half-inning with three runs, highlighted by a two-run home run from Freeman to centerfield. 

But the Drovers would not go down quietly. They added one more run in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the sixth to cut CMU’s lead to 7-5.

USAO capitalized on an error by the CMU defense to score again and come within one run.

But Sears has the final say as he retired three of the final four Drover batters to preserve a wild one-run win for CMU. 

Vince Ray earned his first win of the year. The right-hander pitched one-and-a-third scoreless innings with two strikeouts. 

The Eagles will open their home schedule on Thursday as they host the Heart/AMC Challenge beginning against Missouri Baptist. The first pitch of the doubleheader is set for noon at Estes Field.