WEST BURLINGTON - The Kirkwood baseball team came within three outs of sweeping the fourth-ranked team in the country Friday, but the Eagles had to settle for a split instead.

Kirkwood edged Southeastern 5-4 in the first game and had a 3-2 lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning of the nightcap, but the Blackhawks tied the score in the bottom of the ninth and prevailed 4-3 in 12 innings.

The split left Kirkwood at 17-12 overall and 5-5 in the ICCAC conference. Southeastern is 24-7 and 8-2.

The same two teams are scheduled for another twinbill, this time at Kirkwood Saturday at 1 p.m.

Nick Drahozal (3-2) pitched another strong game in the opener for Kirkwood. He tossed six innings and allowed only one earned run, with seven strikeouts and two walks. Randy Perez pitched the bottom of the seventh and final inning for his second save.

Southeastern had a 4-0 lead in the opener after five innings, but the Eagles scored three runs in the top of the six and added two more runs in the seventh for the comeback victory.

The second game was scheduled for nine innings, and it looked like the Eagles would return to Cedar Rapids with a sweep with Perez back on the mound in the bottom of the ninth with a 3-2 lead. He was touched for a run, however, and the game went into extra innings.

Dariel Checo retired Southeastern in the 10th and 11th innings, but the Blackhawks pushed across a run in the bottom of the 12th for the split. Perez had two hits in the nightcap and Toran Shahidi scored two runs.

Game 1

Kirkwood        000 003 2 - 5 5 3
Southeastern  121 000 0 - 4 7 0

W - Drahozal (3-2). L - Lao. S - Perez.

Game 2

Kirkwood        010 100 010 000 - 3 6 2
Southeastern  000 100 011 001 - 4 5 5