[Baseball] Clarke eliminates Eagles in Heart semifinals

CMU BASEBALL VS. CLARKE PHOTO GALLERY
OZARK, Mo. – When Central Methodist University centerfielder Dustyn Macaluso (SR/Sacramento, Calif.) stepped to the plate and ripped a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence in the top of the eighth inning of the semifinal matchup between the No. 2-seed Eagles and No. 1-seed Clarke University Monday afternoon, CMU took an 7-6 lead and appeared to be on its way to a trip to the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament finals and an automatic berth into the NAIA Baseball National Championship tournament.

But despite widening the lead to 8-6 in the top of the ninth, the Eagles couldn't sustain the lead, as Clarke scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to send the game into extra frames tied at 8-8. Then, in the bottom of the 10th, the Crusaders managed an unearned run on no hits to escape with a 9-8 victory and a trip into the conference tournament championship round against No. 6-seed MidAmerica Nazarene University.