Millington, Tenn. – The Centenary baseball team recorded a resounding 11-0 run-rule victory in seven innings over the nationally-ranked LaGrange College Panthers on Friday in its first game of three non-conference contests hosted by Rhodes College at the USA Baseball Stadium Complex.
The Diamond Gents (6-3) dominated the No. 2/8 Panthers (8-5) and gained revenge after LaGrange's three-game sweep over the Maroon in White last May in the NCAA Regional. The Panthers are currently ranked #8 in the D3Baseball.com/NCBWA poll and #2 in Collegiate Baseball's 2023 Preseason D3 Poll released in December.
Centenary jumped out to a 3-0 lead after an inning, added a run in the second, and inserted the dagger with a seven-run fourth to cruise to the shutout win. The Diamond Gents finished with 12 runs, drew three walks, and only struck out twice.
Centenary All-American sophomore LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas) went the distance to improve to 2-1 on the season as he allowed just four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. He faced 26 batters and threw 88 pitches (56) for strikes in his seven innings of work. Friday marked his third-career complete game.
LaGrange starter Baley Coleman (1-2) was tagged for 11 runs, 10 earned, and 11 hits in his four innings of work with a walk and two K's and allowed a pair of home runs. Hunter Garcia relieved Coleman and went an inning and walked two. Slade James was the third and final Panthers pitcher and allowed one hit in an inning.
Junior C Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.) highlighted the day for the Maroon and White as he belted a grand slam, his first-career home run, as he finished 2-4 with a run scored and career-high four RBI. Freshman RF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) and sophomore DH Cade LaBruyere (Iowa, La.) each had three hits as Livesay finished with a triple, an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored.
Senior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) was 1-4 with two RBI and a run scored, junior 2B Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.) finished 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored, and freshman LF Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Texas) was 0-4 but had an RBI and scored a run. Senior SS Noah Koehmstedt (San Diego, Calif.) went 1-4 with an RBI, freshman 1B Collin Pitts (Lufkin, Texas) was 1-3, and freshman 3B Clay Menard (Berwick, La.) went 0-2 but scored a run and drew a walk.
LaGrange had a single in the second and another single in the third inning, and then did not get another hit until C Curt Bonner singled to lead off the top of the seventh and pinch hitter Matt Eden singled one out later for the Panthers' fourth and final hit of the game. LaGrange was blanked for the first time this season.
Hewitt scored Livesay on a ground out to short in the first, a groundout by Forth scored Boone for the second Centenary run, and an RBI single by Koehmstedt drove in LaBruyere to make it 3-0. Livesay hit his first-career homer in the second to extend Centenary's lead to 4-0.
Centenary then put the game away with seven runs in the fourth. Hewitt singled to drive in a run and a second run scored on an error. LaBruyere's RBI single scored Hewitt, and Benoit capped the scoring with his bases-loaded blast.
Centenary will face the University of Chicago on Saturday at 4 p.m., and Westfield State University on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. 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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