The No. 8 Central Methodist baseball team took the first two games of a four-game series against Graceland, winning game one 10-2 followed by a 2-0 shut out in the second game Monday afternoon at Estes Field. 

With the pair of victories, Central improves to 16-3 and 2-0 in the Heart, while Graceland falls to 6-12 and 0-3 in conference play. 

The Eagles' offense jumped out in front with seven runs in the first inning, highlighted by a three-run home run from junior Robbie Merced and solo home runs from seniors Jeff Vance and Grant Victor. 

Central pushed its lead to 9-2 after Merced’s second home run of the day in the bottom of the second, followed by an RBI-double from sophomore Tommaso Giarola to score classmate Bobby Nichols.

Merced’s bat remained hot as he tallied his third home run in the sixth inning to cement a 10-2 victory for Central. Senior Beau Atkins tossed six complete innings, giving up only two earned runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts. He is now a perfect 3-0 on the early season. 

Junior lefty Anthony G. Rodriguez came in as relief for the final inning of work, retiring the side in order, including one strikeout. Merced had a monster day at the plate for Central, going 3-for-4 with three home runs and five runs driven in. 

Freshmen Tanner Sears, Vance, and Victor all picked up two hits including solo home runs for both Vance and Victor. Overall, the Central bats finished the game with 10 runs on 13 hits with five walks. 

Game two was a pitcher’s duel, as both pitchers combined for just two runs on seven hits. Central took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a solo home run from sophomore Tommaso Giarola followed by Merced’s fourth home run of the series in the fourth inning. 

Sophomore Sebastian Escobar was masterful on the mound for Central. The native of Monteria, Colombia tossed a complete-game shut out. He gave up only two hits against 24 batters faced including 11 strikeouts en route to his fifth win of the season. 

CMU would return to Estes on Tuesday against Graceland again for a twin bill. The games were to be contested after The Advertiser went to press. The eagles will face the Valor of Evangel in two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Both sets are to start at 1 p.m.