Los Angeles – The Centenary baseball team snapped its four-game losing streak in a big way on Saturday afternoon as the Diamond Gents recorded a season high in runs and hits in game one of a non-conference doubleheader against Occidental College and then set new season highs in game two as they posted 16-7 and 19-3 victories over the Tigers at Anderson Field.
Centenary then took an 11-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning in game two of the DH but the game was suspended due to weather until Sunday. The brief pause in action did not to deter the Diamond Gents' offense as they added eight more runs once the game was resumed and cruised to the victory to sweep the DH. The 16-run margin in game two is the largest by Centenary this season.
The Diamond Gents (8-8) entered the day 0-4 on their seven-game game west coast road trip and after two days off, they flexed their offensive muscles en route to a pair of blowout wins over the Tigers (5-7-1). Centenary, which lost 12-8 to the University of La Verne Leopards in a non-conference contest on Wednesday afternoon, also lost to La Verne 9-7 on Feb. 27. The Maroon and White also dropped a pair of games last weekend to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps by scores of 12-5 and 9-4.
Centenary had 18 hits in game one and a season-high 19 in game two and has now recorded 10 or more hits in game 11 times this season and 13 or more six times. The Diamond Gents, despite the recent losing streak prior to Saturday, have been clicking on offense as they have posted 10 or more hits in five-straight games and in eight of their last nine overall. Centenary has scored 10 or more runs in a game this season six times, and 13 or more an impressive five times.
Game one recap: Centenary 16 Occidental 7
Four Diamond Gents posted multi-hit games led by a superb performance from senior RF Luke Royle (Dodge City, Kan.) who finished 5-6 with four RBI, a stolen base, and three runs scored. Royle hit a two-run home run in the second, an RBI single in the fifth, and an RBI triple in the seventh as he set a new career-high for hits in a game. Senior LF Tyler Welch (Pineville, La.) went 3-4 with an RBI single, a walk, and two runs scored from the leadoff spot. Welch now has six multi-hit performances this season and has done so in four of his last six games. He tied his season-high of three hits which he has done three times so far this season.
Senior SS Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas) went 2-4 with two RBI, a run scored, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. Junior 2B Cole Collins (Shreveport, La.) was 2-6 with two RBI and three runs scored, and six other Centenary players recorded at least one hit. The Diamond Gents also drew a season-high 11 walks and only struck out four times. Senior Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) went 1-4 with an RBI groundout, a run scored, and three walks.
Sophomore C Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.) finished 1-4 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a walk and senior 1B Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas) was 1-5 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk. Freshman 3B Blaine Miller (Lewisville, Texas) went 1-3 with an RBI double, a run scored, and a pair of walks. Freshman CF Cade LaBruyere (Iowa, La.) was 1-3 with two walks and two runs scored.
Occidental committed five errors, struck out seven times and left nine on base. The Tigers drew five walks and finished with nine hits including four extra-base hits, but defense and an overall lack of situational hitting with men in scoring position hurt them. LF Antonio Andrade and 2B Ryan Cacatian led the way with three hits each and DH Ari Solomon went 1-4 with two RBI, a run score, and a walk. Andrade had a pair of doubles, Cacatian had one, and Solomon hit a two-run homer.
Ludwick started on the mound and went six innings as he allowed three runs, all earned, and six hits. He improved to 2-1 on the season as he walked two and struck out six, throwing 90 pitches (60 strikes) and faced 28 batters, hitting a pair. Junior RHP Christian Diaz (Houston, Texas) came in for Ludwick in the seventh and went 2/3 of an inning as he allowed two runs, both earned, and a hit with a walk. He faced four batters and threw 13 pitches, eight for strikes.
Freshman RHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas) replaced Diaz and hit the first batter he faced, then allowed an RBI single, but got the final out of the inning. He faced three batters and threw 10 pitches, six for strikes. Junior RHP Peyton Thibodeaux (Lake Arthur, La.) pitched the final two innings, allowing just one earned run on one hit with two walks and one strikeout. He faced nine batters and threw 32 pitches, 16 for strikes.
Jack Winterbauer started for the Tigers and suffered the loss as he allowed six runs, all earned, on seven hits with four walks and one strikeout in 4.1 innings of work. He allowed Royle's homer and threw 87 pitches, 55 for strikes, and faced 27 batters. Five Occidental relievers combined to pitch the remainder of the game and allowed 10 runs (nine earned) and 11 hits with three strikeouts and seven walks.
Game two recap: Centenary 19 Occidental 3
Centenary picked up where it left off in game one as the Maroon and White scored four runs in the top of the first and after the Tigers cut the lead in half with single runs in the first and third inning, the Diamond Gents added five more in the seventh for an 11-2 lead.
The Diamond Gents waited out the delay overnight and exploded for eight more runs in the top of the ninth to seal the sweep and finish the day with an astounding 35 runs and 37 hits. Centenary recorded eight extra-base hits in the game, five doubles, two homers, and a triple. The eight extra-base hits tied a season high previously set in a 13-3 win over Alma on Feb. 21 when Centenary had seven doubles and a triple.
Six Centenary players recorded multi-hit games led by a season-high tying four from Bridges. Benoit and Ludwick each had three hits and Miller, Robinson, and LaBruyere each had two. The three hits for Benoit are a season high and Ludwick tied his season high which he has done four times so far this season.
The Diamond Gents stole four bases and drew four walks. Royle, the hitting star in game one, started game two and picked up the win on the mound as he went six innings and allowed just two runs, one earned, and six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He allowed one homer, faced 25 batters, and threw 98 pitches, 57 for strikes to improve to 3-1.
Justin Hirschberg (1-1) suffered the loss as he was roughed up for 11 runs, eight earned, and 14 hits with one walk and one strikeout in 6.2 innings pitched. He also allowed two home runs. The Tigers played a sloppy game as they committed six errors, struck out six times, and left seven on base. SS Nolan Upchurch led the Tigers' offense with two hits and Andrade, who had a pair of doubles in game one, hit a solo homer.
Bridges went 4-5 with two RBI and three runs scored with two doubles. Benoit was 3-5 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a walk. Ludwick finished 3-4 with three RBI, four runs scored, a home run, a triple, and a walk. Miller was 2-6 with an RBI single, a double, and a run scored, Robinson was 2-5 with a double, three runs scored and a walk, and LaBruyere finished 2-6 with an RBI.
Collins was 1-5 with an RBI double, a walk, and a run scored and Welch was 1-5 with two runs scored. Senior LF John Beaudion (Houston, Texas) went 1-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored. Benoit, Bridges, Collins, and Beaudion each stole a base.
The Diamond Gents and Tigers will finish the series with a third and final game as Centenary goes for the sweep.
See the complete Diamond Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2021-22/schedule
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