Cleburne, Texas- The No. 3 seed Centenary baseball team will face No. 2 seed Texas Lutheran University on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the opening round of the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
The double elimination tournament begins on Friday at 1 p.m. as top seed Trinity (29-8, 19-2 SCAC) faces No. 4 seed St. Thomas (17-23, 11-10 SCAC) and continues through Sunday, May 8. All games will be live streamed through the league's partnership with Sportsgram.
The Diamond Gents (24-15, 14-7 SCAC) are back in the SCAC Tournament for the ninth time as they have appeared in every edition since joining the conference prior to the 2013 season. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID pandemic but the Maroon and White have participated in every one since 2013. Centenary has enjoyed incredible success in the event, winning the 2017 championship en route to an NCAA regional appearance and finishing as runner-up three times (2013, 2015, 2018). The Diamond Gents have now won 10 or more regular season conference games in every season since joining the SCAC (2013-present) and have won 13 or more six times.
St. Thomas is making its debut in the event while Texas Lutheran is the defending champion of the event and has won two of the last three contested championships. The Celts won two of three games versus the Diamond Gents last weekend in Houston to clinch a berth, edging Southwestern (10-11 SCAC) for the final spot. Trinity is ranked 12th in the current D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll while Texas Lutheran is receiving votes. Centenary went a combined 4-5 against the three teams in the regular season. The Diamond Gents handed top seed Trinity one of its two conference losses and TLU one of its four. Centenary, despite all of its success in the conference tournament since joining the conference, is looking for its first win in the event since 2018 as the Maroon and White have lost five in a row. The Diamond Gents fell 8-5 to TLU in the 2018 championship game and went 0-2 in 2019 and last season.
The Diamond Gents enter the weekend having won 10 of their last 12 games and are one of the top offensive clubs in the conference and the country. The Maroon and White have scored 10 or more runs in a game 16 times this season and scored 15+ runs in a game seven times. The Diamond Gents reached double digits nine times in conference play during the regular season and also recorded 10 or more hits in game 25 times this season, and at least 13 hits an impressive 17 times.
Centenary boasts a team batting average of .323 with an on-base percentage of .411 and slugging percentage of .454. The Diamond Gents are tied for 43rd in the country in runs (331) and average 8.5 runs per game. Their 25 triples are seventh-most in the country and they also have 68 doubles and 20 home runs for a total of 113 extra-base hits and 615 total bases. Centenary has also stolen 79 bases which ranks in the top 65 in the nation.
Centenary features the top hitter - Senior 1B/RHP Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) and top pitcher - freshman LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas) in the conference as Ludwick's .417 batting average is tops in the SCAC and Herrera leads in ERA at an impressive 1.11. Ludwick, a versatile and dynamic veteran who was named SCAC Pitcher of the Year last season, is a candidate for Player of the Year while Herrera is a strong candidate to be named Pitcher of the Year and possibly Freshman of the Year. Seven of Centenary's regular starters are hitting over .300 and five are hitting .350 or better. Junior RHP Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) has had an outstanding season on the mound as he and Herrera have formed a superb 1-2 punch on the hill for Centenary. Primeaux is 8-4 on the season with a 3.53 ERA, the fourth-lowest in the conference. He has also tossed two complete games and has two saves. Primeaux ranks third in the league in innings pitched (66.1) and fifth in strikeouts (67). He ranks 50th in the country in WHIP (1.01) and has only walked 16 batters and allowed three home runs all season. Primeaux also has 12 career saves and is just five shy of the D3 era career record held by Taylor Henry with 17.
Ludwick, who is also 5-3 on the mound this season and has made a team-leading 11 starts, is tied for fifth in the league in RBI (38) and has a team-high 60 hits with 36 runs scored in 144 at-bats. He has hit four homers, 11 doubles (most on team) and three triples (third on team) with an on-base percentage of .511 and is slugging .618.
Ludwick recorded his 200th career hit on April 2 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. He also became the 46th SCAC baseball player to reach 200 hits in his career. He recorded his 150th career RBI on April 23 versus Southwestern and ranks second in career RBI in the D3 era. He also needs just one strikeout to reach 150 for his career that will tie him for fourth place in the D3 era.
Herrera, whose ERA was below 1.00 for most of the season, has been as close to unhittable as possible this season as he has made 13 appearances and seven starts and is 6-0 with two complete games. He has allowed just seven earned runs, 21 walks, and one home run all season. He has gone at least 5.1 innings in all seven of his starts. Herrera is eighth in the SCAC in innings pitched (57.0) and has 52 K's to rank in the top 10. He ranks seventh in the country in division III in ERA, is a two-time SCAC Pitcher of the Week recipient, and was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Rookie of the Week on March 31.
Senior 2B/C Tyler Erickson (Houston, Texas) ranks second in the conference with a .388 batting average and has been on a tear lately, as he is riding an eight-game hitting streak with six multi-hit performances including a pair of three-hit games. He now has 14 multi-hit performances this season including one five-hit game, one four-hit game, and four three-hit efforts. He is tied for third on the team with 50 hits and fourth with 23 RBI and he has scored 28 runs and has three doubles and three triples. Erickson, in 129 at-bats, has an OBP of .438 and is slugging .457.
Senior 3B Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas) notched his 100th-career hit versus Southwestern on April 23 and is having another All-SCAC caliber season. He is hitting .304 this season (.350 OBP/.423 slugging) with 51 hits, 38 runs scored, 27 RBI, 14 extra-base hits, and eight stolen bases. Robinson, an all-conference selection in 2021 as a shortstop in his first season with Centenary, has moved to third base this season with the emergence of junior Noah Koehmstedt (San Diego, Calif.). The junior college transfer moved into the starting SS role and has been impressive as he is hitting .269 (.341 OBP/.397 slugging) with 21 hits, 19 RBI, and 16 runs scored in 78 at-bats. He has four doubles, two homers, seven stolen bases, and seven multi-hit games.
Senior C/1B Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas) is hitting .317 (.425 OBP/.503 slugging) with 46 hits, 37 runs scored, 34 RBI, and 16 extra-base hits. Bridges has recorded 12 multi-hit games this season including a pair of four-hit games and four three-hit efforts. His 34 RBI are tied for seventh in the conference and in 145 at-bats he has only struck out 16 times while drawing an impressive 22 walks. Senior DH Tyler Welch (Pineville, La.) is hitting .355 with 50 hits, 45 runs scored (tied for fifth in SCAC), 27 RBI, and has stolen 11 bases in 14 attempts. He has eight doubles, two homers, and a triple, and has drawn 23 walks in 141 at-bats compared to just 15 K's.
Senior OF Luke Royle (Dodge City, Kan.) is hitting .354 (.432 OBP/.500 slugging) with 29 hits, 22 runs, 20 RBI, seven extra-base hits, and nine stolen bases. Freshman OF Cade LaBruyere (Iowa, La.) continues to shine in his rookie season as he is hitting .345 with an OBP of .431 and .448 slugging percentage. He has 40 hits, 31 runs scored, 24 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and seven extra-base hits. Junior IF/DH Cole Collins (Shreveport, La.) has shared second-base duties with Erickson and is batting .313 this season (.400 OBP/.667 slugging percentage) with three home runs (third on team), 15 hits, 16 RBI, 18 runs scored, nine extra-base hits, and six stolen bases.
Sophomore Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.) transferred from LSU-Eunice and has been a solid utility player for Centenary, seeing time at catcher and in the infield. He is hitting .253 in 27 games and in 79 at-bats he has 20 hits, 15 RBI, and 13 runs scored. He also has three doubles and three stolen bases. Fellow sophomore Julien DeLeon (Shreveport) is in his first season with the Maroon and White after transferring from LSU-S and he has proven himself as one of the top pinch-hitters in the conference with his knack for clutch hits. He is hitting .286 with six hits in just 21 at-bats with an astounding 11 RBI. Senior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) has played his usual stellar defense in center field and is hitting .258 with 23 hits, 22 runs scored, 11 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. He also has a homer, five doubles, a triple, and a .404 OBP.
The Trinity-St. Thomas winner will meet the winner of the Centenary-TLU game on Saturday at Noon followed by the losers' bracket game at approximately 3:30 p.m.
For more information on the 2022 SCAC Baseball Tournament, click here for the official website.
See the complete Diamond Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2021-22/schedule
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