Mustangs Split on Day One of AMC Tournament

Erik Holth, CBC Sports Information Director

            St. Louis, Mo. – Opening play today in the American Midwest Conference tournament, Central Baptist College baseball played the Trojans of Hannibal-LaGrange at CarShield Field. CBC (26-27) would defeat HLGU (12-32) 9-2 to advance before falling 9-8 to William Woods (30-13) in their second game, causing them to fall into the loser's bracket.

            Logan Easterling made history by homering in both games. He hit home runs #15 and 16 on the season, giving him the most ever in a single-season by a catcher, breaking the record previously held by Austin Kuchinski.

GAME ONE – CBC 9, HLGU 2

            CBC jumped on the Trojans quickly, with Easterling homering in the first to make it 1-0. The Mustangs would score on a double play in the second to make it 2-0 and the Trojans would make it 2-1 in the fourth on a homer of their own. CBC's offense would blow it open in the sixth inning, plating seven runs to make it 9-1 and give starter Garon Johnson more than enough run support. Danilo Taborda drove in the first run of the inning with a single and Wille Baez followed that with a two-run homer, his 11^th of the season to make it 5-1. Jay French would then score on an error to make it 6-1 and Ruben Hernandez would be responsible for the next three runs, driving in two with a double and then scoring later on a stolen base and an error. Johnson would allow an unearned run in the eighth, but secured the win and allowed CBC to move on. Johnson earned his seventh win of the season, throwing seven and two-thirds innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts. Jackson Lindsey finished the final one and a third, allowing nothing while striking out two.

GAME TWO – WWU 9, CBC 8

            The Owls took an early 6-0 lead in the first two innings of game two before CBC started to chip away at the lead. Two runs would score on an error in the third to make it 6-2 and a solo home run by Easterling later in the inning would make it 6-3. An RBI groundout by Taborda reduced the deficit to 6-4 before the Owls plated three in the bottom of the fourth to stretch the deficit to 9-4. An Easterling single in the fifth made it 9-5 and a two-run triple by French made it 9-7 in the sixth. A double by Austin Teal reduced the deficit to 9-8 in the seventh and set up ninth inning drama. French would single to lead off the inning, steal second and advance to third on a sac bunt. Following an intentional walk to Easterling, runner Kyle Bass put two in scoring position before Hernandez and Teal both recorded outs to end the game. French went 3-5 with a pair of RBIs and now sits only two hits shy of the single-season record of 84 hits set by Jalin Lawson in 2016. Devon Koonce did not factor in the decision, but was brilliant in relief, throwing the final four innings and allowing just two hits while striking out four.

UP NEXT

            The Mustangs will get a long rest tomorrow, as they are not scheduled to play until 4 p.m. Their opponent has yet to be determined, but it will be the loser of the game between Columbia and Williams Baptist with the winner moving on.