Baseball Continues Best Start in Division III Era With Win in SCAC Opener

Sherman, Texas - The Centenary baseball team extended its season-high winning streak to eight games as the Gents opened Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 15-10 victory on Friday night over the Austin College 'Roos at Baker Field.

The three-game weekend series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for 1 and 4 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for both games 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 (14-2) are off to their best start in the division III era (2012-present) and are ranked No. 25 in the latest 2021 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Week 4 poll, it was announced on Tuesday. The 'Roos fell to 4-4 with Friday's loss. Centenary has now won 23 of its last 29 games overall going back to the start of last season and has now scored 10 or more runs in a game eight times this season, and 11 or more six times. The Gents have done so five times during their current eight-game winning streak. Friday marked the second time this season that the gents have scored 15 runs in a game after previously doing so in a 15-5 win over Edgewood on Feb. 21.

Centenary jumped out to a 7-0 lead after its first two at-bats and led 12-5 after five innings. Austin College scored five runs combined in the seventh and eighth innings to make it closer at the end as both offenses performed well with the Gents collecting 17 hits and the 'Roos getting 16. The Gents scored five runs in both the second and fifth innings and Austin College scored at least two runs in the second, fourth, sixth, and seventh innings.

Four Gents posted multi-hit performances led by senior second baseman Tyler Erickson (Houston, Texas) who went 4-6 with three RBI and a run scored. His four hits are a single game season-best. Erickson is now 11-20 in his last five games with five RBI, seven runs scored, two doubles, and a walk. He has recorded three games with three or more hits and is hitting a team-best .444 with an on-base percentage of .514 and is slugging .508.

Senior right fielder Cody Crowder (Shepherd, Texas) had a big night as he went 3-5 with four RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. His four RBI are a new season high and his three hits matched a season high. Junior catcher Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas) entered the game as the conference leader in RBI with 17 and added to his total with two more on Friday. He went 2-5 with a walk. Junior shortstop Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas) went 2-4 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a walk. Junior center fielder Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) was 1-3 with two RBI, two walks, and three runs scored in the lead-off spot.

Senior first baseman Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) went 1-5 with an RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. Ludwick was coming off a stellar week in which he went 7-17 at the plate with six runs scored, six RBI, two doubles, a homer, and two walks, and had three multi-hit games.

Senior left-handed pitcher Connor Lee (Sugarland, Texas) started and allowed five runs, all earned, on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Fellow senior Connor Cudd (Lake Charles, La.) relieved Lee and went 1.2 innings and allowed two hits and struck out two to earn the win and move to 2-0 on the season. Senior Andy Purpura (Bozeman, Mont.) pitched two innings and allowed five runs, all earned on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Sophomore Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) pitched the final two innings and walked one and recorded one strikeout.

The Gents collected five extra-base hits as Bridges had two doubles, Hewitt and Robinson each had doubles, and Crowder had a triple. Six 'Roos had multi-hit games led by three hits each from shortstop Jake Webster and second baseman Zack Mahoney. Austin College gad four extra-base hits, all doubles. Austin College starter Jordan Miller (0-1) took the loss as he went two innings and allowed seven runs, all earned, and nine hits with a pair of walks and no strikeouts. Three 'Roos relievers combined to allow eight runs (five earned) and eight hits with six walks and four strikeouts.

The Gents will go for their fourth doubleheader sweep of the season after having previously swept Huntingdon (Feb. 27) on the road and consecutive sweeps over LeTourneau last weekend, winning a pair at home on March 12 and two more the next day in Longview, Texas.

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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