2022 Season Preview: Centenary Baseball

Shreveport – The Centenary baseball program is poised to make another conference title run and more in 2022, so you could say it is just business as usual as the old saying goes for the Diamond Gents.

Centenary is coming off one of its finest seasons in program history in 2021 as the Diamond Gents went 30-11 overall and 14-7 in Southern Collegiate Athletic conference play. The Maroon and White are currently receiving votes (7) in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA preseason poll and have established themselves as one of the top teams in the West Region and in the country in all of division III during the current D3 era (2012-present).

The Maroon and White are predicted to finish third in the SCAC this season, marking the second time in a row that they have been picked third. The Diamond Gents were predicted to finish fourth prior to the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign in which they did not get the opportunity to play any conference games.

The Diamond Gents will begin their regular season at home on Saturday, Feb. 5 as they host the Gents Classic this weekend at Shehee Stadium. Centenary faces the Willamette University Bearcats in their season opener on Saturday at approximately 6:30 p.m. ETBU joins the Diamond Gents and Willamette for the weekend event and will face each other to open the tournament on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Sunday's schedule features three games beginning with the Diamond Gents and ETBU facing each other at 11 a.m. Willamette and ETBU will meet for a second time at 2:30 p.m. and the Diamond Gents and Bearcats finish the day with a 6 p.m. contest. The tournament wraps up on Monday with the Diamond Gents and Tigers squaring off at 4 p.m.

Head coach Mike Diaz enters his 12th season as head coach of the Gents in 2022 as his tenure has been marked by continued success and achievements. Diaz is entering his 18th season overall with the program as he was previously associate head coach from 2005-2010. He was named the SCAC Coach of the Year in 2021, winning the award for the fifth time in his career, and needs just one win to reach 250 in his superb career with the Maroon and White. Diaz, who was also named the West Region Coach of the Year by D3Baseball.com in 2017, is a stellar 249-177-1 (.583) overall in his 11 seasons and a remarkable 91-37 (.711) record in conference regular season games with 10 or more wins each season.

"Every year our goal is to play the toughest non-conference schedule possible and I think this year reflects that," said Diaz.  We have a schedule with some of the toughest teams in the nation. The schedule will challenge us, prepare us for conference play, and really give us a sense of where we stack up this year.  Our guys are really looking forward to competing and getting the season going."

"Our roster consists of many key players off last year's team.  We return seven starters on offense and a pitching staff that includes the Pitcher and Closer of the Year in conference. I think we are going to lean on the depth and experience of those guys that have been here, but also look to some new players to fill the void of losing some key players off last years' squad. We also will look to some new guys to address the weaknesses from last year team."

The Diamond Gents have claimed four SCAC regular-season titles (2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018) in Diaz's tenure and one conference tournament crown (2017) en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Diamond Gents won 30 games in a season for just the second time in the Division III era (2012-present) and 10^th time in school history last season, and set a D3 era single-season record for home wins (17) and won their first 16 at Shehee Stadium. They swept five opponents at home last season and are 20-3 in their last 23 home games dating back to the beginning of last season. 

Centenary also won a program-record 18-straight games from March 4-April 6 as the Maroon and White went unbeaten for six-consecutive weeks and at the time owned the longest winning streak in the nation in Division III. The Gents were ranked for eight straight weeks in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA poll and peaked at No. 14. Centenary secured the No. 4 seed in the 2021 SCAC Championship in Cleburne, Texas.

Centenary hits the road for the first time Feb. 11-13 to play in the Millsaps Tournament in Jackson, Miss. The Diamond Gents will face Huntingdon College on Friday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. and then MUW on Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. and will wrap up the weekend on Feb. 13 versus LaGrange.

The Maroon and White are then back home Feb. 20-21 to play host to Alma College for a four-game non-conference series. The Scots are a division III school located in Alma, Mich. The teams will play a pair of doubleheaders on Sunday, Feb. 20 (1 and 4 p.m.) and Monday, Feb. 21 (3 and 6 p.m.). Centenary then heads to California for seven games from Feb. 26 to March 6. The Diamond Gents then face the Millsaps Majors in a mid-week non-conference home game on Wednesday, March 9 at 5 p.m.

Centenary begins conference play at Texas Lutheran March 18-19 and faces Trinity March 25-26 in its first conference home series. The Diamond Gents finish the regular season at St. Thomas April 29-30. The Maroon and White are set to play 21 SCAC contests, nine at home and 12 on the road. The Diamond Gents will face Austin College and Southwestern at home in addition to Trinity and Dallas and Schreiner are the two other road series' in addition to visits to TLU and St. Thomas. The Diamond Gents are scheduled to play 18 home games during the regular season and 22 road/neutral contests.

Centenary returns seven everyday starters and its top two pitchers this season. Senior P/1B Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) headlines the returnees as he was named the SCAC Pitcher of the Year and earned First-Team All-SCAC honors at first base as of the conference's most versatile and dynamic players. Ludwick was named to both the 2021 D3baseball.com West All-Region Second Team and the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III West All-Region First Team as well as the 2021 Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Men's College Baseball Team.

He led the conference in batting average, hits, RBI, and total bases and ranked in the top 10 in seven more individual statistical categories. He went 8-2 with a 4.09 ERA and led the conference in wins, strikeouts, and opposing batting average and ranked second in ERA and innings pitched. He made 12 appearances (12 starts) and tossed one complete game … He was a finalist for SCAC Hitter of the Year as he collected a team-high 65 hits, 49 RBI, and a .404 batting average.

Junior RHP Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) is back as the Gents' primary closer after being named to the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III West All-Region Team last season. Primeaux, who earned a spot on the second team, had a breakout sophomore season as he earned First-Team All-SCAC honors as a relief pitcher. He led the country in division III in saves with 10 and also led the conference in the category and led SCAC in ERA (3.22). In a team-high 27 appearances, Primeaux went 3-4 and in 64.1 innings pitched he allowed just 56 hits with only 23 earned runs. He struck out 58 batters and averaged 8.11 strikeouts per nine innings. He was named SCAC Pitcher of the Week on March 9.

Senior DH/OF Tyler Welch (Lake Charles, La.) is also back and will be one of the Gents' top offensive threats in 2022. He joined Ludwick and Primeaux on the 2021 D3baseball.com West All-Region Team as he earned a spot on the second team. Welch had a superb 2021 season for the Gents as he hit .383 with an on-base percentage of .430 and slugged .539. He collected 49 hits, scored 28 runs, had 28 RBI, and had 14 extra-base hits which included 10 doubles. In 128 at-bats he only struck out 10 times while drawing 13 walks. He recorded 17 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games. Welch earned a spot on the 2021 SCAC Championship All-Tournament Team as he went 5-9 at the plate in two games with three RBI, four runs scored, and four doubles.

Senior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas), senior SS Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas), senior C/2B Tyler Erickson (Houston, Texas), and senior C/1B Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas) all return after each earned all-conference recognition last season. Senior OF Luke Royle (Dodge City, Kan.), fellow senior OF John Beaudion (Houston, Texas) along with senior Conner Poche (Lutcher, La.) also return this season. Ten true freshmen join the roster this season along with seven transfers.

Hewitt was named Second-Team All-SCAC as the Gents' starting center fielder. He played in 40 games and batted .346 with an impressive .447 OBP and .462 slugging percentage. Hewitt H\had 54 hits in 156 at-bats with 48 runs scored and 11 doubles, hit one home run, had a pair of triples and finished with 25 RBI. He also stole a team-best 22 bases and was only caught four times, had more walks (26) than strikeouts (24) and recorded 14 multi-hit games including four three-hit performances and a pair of four-hit efforts. Robinson made an immediate impact in his first season with the team after transferring from Eastfield College as he was named Second-Team All-SCAC as the Gents' starting SS. He played in all 41 games and in 152 at-bats he hit .336 with an OBP of .374 and slugged .533. Robinson had 51 hits (tied for fourth on team), scored 33 runs, and drove in 31, fourth-most on the team. He belted a team-leading five home runs and had seven doubles and four triples (second most on team). Robinson also stole eight bases and recorded 17 multi-hit games and his season-high for hits in a game was three set twice, March 20 at Austin College and on May 7 versus Trinity in the SCAC Tournament. He recorded eight multi-RBI games and drove in three or more runs in a game four times. 

Erickson was named Honorable-Mention All-SCAC at second base as one of the Gents' top offensive threats and also caught and played DH. He hit .339 for the season with an OBP of .397 and slugged .399. Erickson played in all 41 games and collected 57 hits in 168 at-bats with 29 runs scored and 36 RBI. He finished with 67 total bases, four double, and three triples and was a great contact hitter as he only struck out 11 times while drawing eight walks.

Bridges earned Honorable-Mention All-SCAC honors as a catcher as he was one of the top offensive players for the Gents last season. He played in all 41 games and hit .285 with an OBP of .392 and slugged .404. He collected 43 hits in 151 at-bats with 45 RBI and 30 runs scored, hit three homers and had nine doubles with three stolen bases, Bridges showed great patience and discipline at the plate as he finished with 21 walks and just 14 strikeouts. He recorded 14 multi-hit games, had 13 games with two or more RBI and had a season-high four hits on Feb. 12 versus ETBU. 

Royle played left field and DH for the Gents as he saw action in 20 games and batted an impressive .412 in 34 at-bats ... Finished with a .487 OBP and slugged a whopping .588 ... Recorded 14 total hits, scored nine runs, and stole one base in one attempt ... Hit six doubles and drove in six runs ... Only struck out six times and drew two walks ... Was also one of the teams' most effective pitchers as he went 2-0 with the fourth-lowest ERA (2.51) ... Made six total appearances and pitched a total of 14.1 innings, allowing 10 hits and five runs (four earned) ... Walked nine and struck out 12. 

Beaudion played in 28 games as the Gents' primary left fielder last season as he batted .229 in 83 at-bats with a .309 OBP and slugged .313. He collected 19 hits, scored 15 runs, and drove in 13. Beaudion hit a pair of homers (tied for fourth on team) and had one double and only struck out 12 times all season and drew seven walks. He recorded four multi-hit games and scored at least two runs in a game three times.

Poche was one of the Gents' top pitchers last season as he went 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 10 appearances. He made nine starts, third-most on the team, and threw 37.1 innings, allowing 43 hits and 20 runs (16 earned). Poche walked 10 and struck out 26 as he finished with a 6.27 K/9 line, allowed only one home run and his 10 appearances were tied for the fifth-most on the team.

See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2021-22/schedule

Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests but be advised of current COVID-19 protocols for fans. Updated COVID-19 information is now available via www.GoCentenary.com.

Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change.

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