Shreveport – Junior Julien DeLeon (Shreveport, La.) delivered a one-out pinch-hit double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Diamond Gents a thrilling 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon which clinched the series over the University of Dallas Crusaders in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play at Shehee Stadium.
Centenary (11-6, 4-2 SCAC) and Dallas (11-11, 2-4 SCAC) split a doubleheader on Saturday as the Crusaders won game one 11-4 and the Diamond Gents responded in a big way in game two as freshman RHP Aidan Reichek (Bellaire, Texas) threw a no-hitter in their 18-0 run-rule victory in seven innings.
Centenary is now 26-10 all-time against Dallas and has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. The Diamond Gents have not lost a conference series to the Crusaders since the 2016 season. Following Saturday's doubleheader when the teams combined for 33 runs and 37 hits, both were much harder to come by in Sunday's rubber game.
Senior RHP Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) started for Centenary and received a no-decision but pitched well, working seven innings and allowing just a pair of earned runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out 10. He faced 30 batters, hitting one, and threw 114 pitches (79 strikes).
The Diamond Gents took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Dallas starting pitcher Caleb Hohman committed a throwing error which allowed senior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) to score on a fielder's choice grounder by junior 2B Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.). Hohman lasted just two innings but pitched effectively, only allowing one hit and one unearned run with no walks or strikeouts. He faced just eight batters, throwing 33 pitches – 24 for strikes.
SS Peyton Garbett tied the game with a two-out RBI single in the second. Two scoreless innings followed until Dallas again scored with two outs, this time on an RBI single by RF Brett Castillo. Centenary, down to its final six outs, turned to a pinch hitter, junior OF Colt Hamilton (West Monroe, La.) to lead off the eighth in place of junior C Jake Gonce (Katy, Texas). Hamilton put the ball in play with a ball in the infield, which 3B Jake Amoroso misplayed and threw away, allowing Hamilton to get to second base. Freshman OF Andrew Landry (Gonzales, La.) pinch ran for Hamilton and had to hurry back to second base on a fly out to right by the next batter, freshman LF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.), as the throw from Castillo back to the bag nearly doubled him off.
That heads up baserunning proved important as Hewitt then stepped to the plate and ripped a single to left center, scoring Landry with the tying run. As Landry slid head first across the plate on the late throw, Hewitt moved up to second base with the potential go-ahead run. Dallas reliever Dominic Gill (3-3) though, struck out Boone for the second out and then retired sophomore RF Cade LaBruyere (Iowa, La.) on a grounder to first for the third out, as 1B Fernando Davila made a nice diving stop and flipped to Gill covering the bag. The speedy LaBruyere and Gill met at the bag as the throw just beat him, and caused a slight collision which Gill did not seem to appreciate, as he gave LaBruyere a slight shove.
LaBruyere did not take kindly to the gesture and pushed Gill back and both benches emptied onto the field as a brief period of extracurricular activity went on. Once order was restored, freshman RHP Jacob Broussard (Houston, Texas) took the hill for his second inning of work in relief of Primeaux. Broussard retired C Teagan Mansfield on a pop out to begin the ninth but walked Garbett. CF Paxton Huff then popped out for the second out but 3B Jake Amoroso singled up the middle as Garbett scampered to third. Broussard, though, kept the game tied as he retired 2B Tyler Darnell on a grounder to short.
Freshman LF Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Texas) grounded out to begin the bottom of the ninth but senior SS Noah Koehmstedt (San Diego, Calif.) followed with a single to left. Freshman 1B Collin Pitts (Lufkin, Texas) then walked to put runners at first and second with one out. DeLeon then stepped to the plate, hitless in his previous six at-bats this season, and wasted no time as he ripped the first pitch he saw from Gill past the first base bag and down the right-field line. Koehmstedt raced around from second base as the jubilant DeLeon cruised into second with arguably Centenary's biggest hit to date this season.
Broussard (1-1) picked up the win in relief as he allowed just a walk and a hit in his two innings of work, facing right batters and throwing 31 pitches (17 strikes). Gill suffered the loss but pitched well as he went 6.1 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits with one walk and a pair of K's. He faced 27 batters and threw 80 pitches – 53 for strikes.
The Diamond Gents will remain at home this coming week but will step out of conference play as they face the LeTourneau University YellowJackets on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/schedule
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