Irving, Texas– The Centenary baseball team is back on the road this weekend as the Diamond Gents will face the University of Dallas Crusaders in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at Noon and 3 p.m. at the UD Baseball Facility.
Live stats and live video are available for all three games of the series at the links below:
Stats: https://www.udallasathletics.com/sports/bsb/2021-22/boxscores/20220409_xy8c.xml
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/udallas/
The Diamond Gents (14-13, 4-5 SCAC) and Crusaders (9-14, 3-6 SCAC) will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Centenary won two of three games at Schreiner last weekend while Dallas was swept at Trinity last weekend and has lost five in a row and are 7-6 at home this season. Centenary swept Dallas at home last season and have won five in a row in the series.
Centenary enters the series as one of the top offensive teams in the conference as the Maroon and White are hitting .316 and have scored 219 runs (8.1/game) and hit 14 home runs. The Diamond Gents' team on-base percentage is .405 and slugging % is .447. Their 303 hits lead the conference and they rank in the top five in 11 different statistical categories. The Diamond Gents are tied for third in the nation in division III in triples (18), 11th in hits, 30th in runs, and are tied for 61st in stolen bases with 49.
Centenary has now scored 10 or more runs in a game a staggering 27 times over the last two seasons and done so 10 times this season. The Diamond Gents have also recorded 10 or more hits in game 19 times, at least 13 hits 12 times. The Maroon and White recorded a season-high 19 hits in their 11-9 loss to Schreiner in game two of a DH last Saturday and finished the series with 29 runs, 49 hits, and 13 extra-base hits.
The Diamond Gents' offense has gotten the most attention this season but Centenary freshman LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas) has blossomed into one of the country's top rookie pitchers as he currently ranks 13th in the nation in division III with an 0.84 ERA. He started the series opener last weekend at Schreiner and pitched six innings, allowing just one run on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout to get the win and move to 4-0 on the season leading Centenary to a dominating 12-1 victory in seven innings.
For the season, he has allowed just three earned runs in 32 innings of work with 11 walks and 29 strikeouts. He turned in a dynamite performance on the mound in Centenary's 10-0 victory over Trinity at home on March 25 in eight innings as he blanked the Tigers on just three hits in his eight innings of work with nine strikeouts and just one walk. He threw 81 pitches, 49 for strikes, and faced 27 batters. Herrera was named the SCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Rookie of the Week following that superb outing. Herrera is one of just two SCAC pitchers to earn the weekly honor twice this season after he picked up the honor for the first time on March 1.
Senior 1B/RHP Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) was named the SCAC Baseball Hitter of the Week on Monday after a superb series at Schreiner, finishing 6-for-13 (.461) with five RBI, three runs scored, three extra base hits (two doubles and a home run), and three walks. He recorded his 200th career hit with a double in the eighth inning of game one of Saturday's DH as he becomes just the fourth player in the current division III era (2012-present) in program history to record 200 or more hits in a career.
Ludwick needs 37 more to tie former teammate and current Centenary assistant coach Cody Crowder for the all-time record. He is also just seven RBI shy of 150 for his career. He recorded his 17th multi-hit performance of the season as he went 3-for-6 in the first game of the DH with a home run, a double, two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. Ludwick becomes the 46th SCAC baseball player to reach 200 hits in his career. He is batting a team-high .431 this season with an OBP of .508 and is slugging .633. He is the team leader in hits (47), RBI (28), doubles (9), and home runs (3). Ludwick has drawn 19 walks in 109 at-bats compared to just 16 strikeouts.
Senior SS Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas), senior DH Tyler Welch (Pineville, La.), senior OF Luke Royle (Dodge City, Kan.), freshman OF Cade LaBruyere (Iowa, La.), senior C/1B/DH Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas), senior IF/C Tyler Erickson (Houston, Texas) and junior IF/DH Cole Collins (Shreveport, La.) are all enjoying fantastic offensive seasons and Welch and Royle have contributed on the mound along with Ludwick as some of the Diamond Gents' most versatile players. Bridges, Erickson, LaBruyere, Robinson, and Welch have each collected 25 or more hits and Bridges, Collins, and Ludwick share the team lead in homers with three each.
Bridges has 25 RBI, 11 extra-base hits, 23 runs scored, and has drawn 16 walks with just 13 strikeouts in 100 at-bats. Robinson has 25 runs scored, 19 RBI, and eight extra-base hits. Royle has 19 hits, 13 runs scored, and five extra-base hits, and Welch has 34 runs scored, 14 RBI, and five doubles. LaBruyere has 21 runs scored, 17 RBI, and five extra-base hits. Erickson has four extra-base hits, 16 runs scored, and 13 RBI. Collins has 14 hits, 17 runs scored, 14 RBI, and is tied for third on the team with eight extra-base hits.
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.
