Baseball Opens SCAC Play at Austin College on Friday

Sherman, Texas - The Centenary baseball team will open Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on the road Friday at 7 p.m. as the Gents face the Austin College 'Roos in a three-game weekend series at Baker Field.

The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday with the games scheduled for 1 and 4 p.m. following Friday's single game. Live stats and live video will be available for all three games of the series at the links below:

Stats: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/boxscores/20210319_w3d0.xml

Video: https://collegetvticket.com/portal/austin

The Gents (13-2) are off to their best start in the division III era (2012-present) and are one game ahead of the pace of the superb 2017 team which began 12-3 on the way to a 35-10 overall record, a SCAC Tournament Championship, and a NCAA Tournament appearance.

The 'Roos are 4-3 on the season after dropping two of three games at home to Mary Hardin-Baylor at home last weekend. Centenary earned a doubleheader sweep over the LeTourneau YellowJackets for the second day in a row, as the Gents recorded 5-3 and 11-4 victories at Conrad-Vernon Field in Longview, Texas last Saturday. Centenary won a pair of games over the YellowJackets on Friday at home by a combined score of 23-1, as they beat them in four-straight games over two days.

Centenary begins conference play riding a season-high seven-game winning streak and the Gents are ranked No. 25 in the latest 2021 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Week 4 poll, it was announced on Tuesday. The Gents outscored LeTourneau 39-8 in the four games, scoring 11 or more runs three times and the Maroon and White have now won 22 of their last 28 games overall going back to the start of last season. Centenary has now scored 10 or more runs in a game seven times this season, and 11 or more five times and have done so four times during its current seven-game winning streak. 

Senior pitcher/first baseman Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) had a sensational weekend for the Gents versus LeTourneau as he went an impressive 7-17 at the plate with six runs scored, six RBI, two doubles, a homer, and two walks. He had three multi-hit games and in game two of the Friday doubleheader at home, he went 2-4 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a double. On Saturday he was a combined 4-10 with a homer, three RBI, and three runs scored in the DH in Longview.

He is batting .373 this season with 22 hits, 17 runs, 16 RBI (tied for second best in the SCAC), four doubles and a homer. His season on-base percentage is .471 and he is slugging .492. Ludwick has also had an outstanding start to the season on the mound as he is a perfect 3-0 with a superb 1.90 ERA. He also has one complete game shutout to his credit.

Senior pitcher Conner Poche (Lutcher, La.) picked up the win in game two of the Gents' doubleheader sweep at home last Friday over LeTourneau as he did not allow a run or hit in his five innings of work with a walk and two K's. He made his third start of the season to improve to 2-0 with an 0.82 ERA.

Junior Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas) currently leads the SCAC in RBI with 17 as he is off to a superb start this season as he is batting .309, has an on-base percentage of .412, and is slugging .436. He has two homers, two doubles, 12 runs scored, and 17 total hits. Bridges went 5-11 in the four games last week with seven runs scored, four RBI, a double, and three walks. He had a pair of multi-hit games with one three-hit performance.

Senior right fielder Cody Crowder (Shepherd, Texas) is having another superb season. He is hitting .357 with an OBP of .500 and is slugging .625. The all-time walks and triples leader in the division III era went 5-17 last week with five RBI, three runs scored, a walk, and a triple. He collected the 200^th hit of his stellar career on March 5 in a home win over Dubuque.

Senior Tyler Erickson (Houston, Texas) went 7-16 at the plate last week with two RBI, six runs scored, two doubles, and a walk and had a pair of three-hit games. He is hitting a superb .421 this season with an impressive .500 .OBP and is slugging .491. Senior outfielder Tyler Welch (Alexandria, La.) went 4-8 with four RBI, two runs scored, four walks, and two extra-base hits. Welch is batting .371 this season with an .OBP of 465 and a slugging percentage of .457.

Junior Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) is hitting .351 on the season (.448 .OBP, .421 slugging) and was 7-16 last week with six runs scored, two RBI, three walks, a double, and had two multi-hit games.

Senior left-handed pitcher Connor Lee (Sugarland, Texas) is 3-1 with a 4.08 ERA and has made a team-leading six starts on the mound this season. Sophomore Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a team-high three saves. Senior Connor Cudd (Lake Charles, La.) is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. Lee and Primeaux have both already been named the SCAC Pitcher of the Week this season while Ludwick earned SCAC Hitter of the Week honors.

Live stats and live video are available for all home contests.

A link to the Gents' complete 2021 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/schedule

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