Diamond Gents Fall 7-2 To Texas Lutheran In SCAC Opener

Seguin, Texas – The Centenary baseball team fell 7-2 in its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener on Friday evening to the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs at Katt-Isbel Field.

The Diamond Gents fell to 10-9 overall and 0-1 in conference play while the Bulldogs improve to 10-6 and 1-0. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at Noon and 3:30 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for both games at the link below:

https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tlu/index.htm

Centenary had its season-high four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-5 on the road this season. The Bulldogs began the season 0-5 but have gone 10-1 since and have now won nine games in a row. The Diamond Gents finished with six hits, made four errors, and left six on base. The Bulldogs recorded 11 hits, made one error, and left eight on base.

Senior RHP Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) started and suffered the loss for Centenary as he went five innings and allowed seven runs, five earned, on eight hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Ludwick faced 27 batters and threw 105 pitches, 62 for strikes.

Freshman LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas) relieved Ludwick and went an inning, allowing two hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Junior RHP Christian Diaz (Houston, Texas) and junior RHP Peyton Thibodeaux (Lake Arthur, La.) each pitched an inning and did not allow any runs. Diaz struck out a pair and did not allow a hit while Thibodeaux allowed just one hit. Herrera threw 24 pitches, 14 for strikes, and faced six batters. Diaz and Thibodeaux each faced three batters and Diaz threw eight pitches, seven for strikes, and Thibodeaux threw 16 (10 strikes).

Texas Lutheran starting pitcher Joe Burch improved to 2-2 as he pitched a complete game and struck out 13 batters. He threw faced 35 batters, threw 119 pitches, 90 for strikes, and allowed two earned runs and six hits with one walk and he allowed a home run.

Senior LF Tyler Welch (Pineville, La.) went 2-4 with a solo home run to lead the Centenary offense. Ludwick, who moved to designated hitter from the mound, finished 1-4 and senior 1B Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas) was 1-3 with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first to give Centenary a 1-0 lead. Senior SS Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas) was 1-4 with a double and a run scored, and senior Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) had a pinch-hit single in the ninth.

RF Blake Cappadona, C Holden Philippus, and LF Alec Sanchez combined to go 7-13 with two homers, a double, five RBI and four runs scored. 1B Tyler Post went 1-2 with a home run and a pair of walks and the Bulldogs stole four bases. Philippus doubled in Cappadona in the first to tie the game at 1-1 and then delivered an RBI single in the second for a 2-1 TLU lead. Homers by the Bulldogs over the next three innings gave them a 6-1 lead. A double steal gave TLU its seventh run in the bottom of the fifth and then the Centenary bullpen held the Bulldogs to just three hits with four strikeouts over the final three innings. Welch homered in the top of the eighth for the final run of the game.

See the complete Diamond 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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