Conway, Ark. – The Centenary baseball team dropped a pair of non-conference games on Saturday in the Hendrix College Invitational, 10-3 to the host Warriors and then 3-2 to Washington University (Mo.) at Warrior Field.
The Diamond Gents (1-3) will face University of Ozarks Eagles (3-2) on Sunday at Noon to wrap up their weekend in the tournament. The game will be played at the University of Central Arkansas.
Game one recap: Hendrix 10 Centenary 3
The Warriors (3-0) jumped out to a 5-0 lead after an inning and added a run in the third for a 6-0 advantage before the Diamond Gents got on the board with a single run in the top of the fifth. Hendrix, though, answered immediately with two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth to extend its lead to 8-2. Centenary scored single runs in the seventh and ninth and the Warriors added two more in the bottom of the eighth.
Centenary finished with 11 hits, drew two walks, made one error, struck out 10 times, and left 10 on base while Hendrix had 12 hits, drew four walks, struck out 10 times, made two errors and left seven men on base.
Sophomore RHP Aidan Reichek (Bellaire, Texas) started and did not last long as he was tagged for five runs, all earned, and three hits with a walk and a strikeout in just 2/3 of an inning. He faced eight batters, hitting two, and threw 34 pitches – 18 for strikes. Sophomore P/IF Jordan Hodges (Longview, Texas) came in for Reichek and went four innings, allowing three runs but just one was earned, on five hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. He faced 19 batters and threw 65 pitches (40 strikes).
Sophomore Colby Wilkerson (Kilgore, Texas) became Centenary's third pitcher of the game as he went 2.2 innings and allowed two runs, both earned, on four hits with one BB and four K's. He faced 12 batters and threw 44 pitches – 30 for strikes. Sophomore Will Riley (Baton Rouge, La.) was Centenary's final reliever of the game as he faced three batters, hitting one and striking out the other two, as he threw 14 pitches with seven going for strikes.
Bryson Bales (1-0) started for the Warriors and picked up the win. He went five innings and allowed just one unearned run and five hits with two BB and five K's. He faced 23 batters and threw 79 pitches (49 strikes). A pair of relievers – Bobby Fowler and Braxton Waller, followed Bales and combined to allow just two earned runs and six hits in four innings of work with no BB and five K's.
Senior SS Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.) led Centenary with three hits and Sophomore LF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) and sophomore 1B Collin Pitts (Lufkin, Texas) each had two. Livesay had a pair of doubles, Pitts had a triple, freshman 2B Braeden Morse (Pearland, Texas) had a double, and senior RF Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.) had a sacrifice fly.
Hendrix SS Zach Marriott went 3-5 with two runs scored and three others – RF Adam Bland, C Ian Guthrie, and Diego Alvarado went a combined 6-12 with five RBI and three runs scored. The Warriors had a pair of extra-base hits and stolen seven bases.
The Warriors' 2B Drake Job started the scoring with a two-RBI single in the first and then scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead. Guthrie followed with a two-run double for a 5-0 lead after one and Alvarado's RBI single to center in the third made it 6-0. An error by Hodges allowed a pair of runs to score in the fifth which followed Centenary scoring one run on an error in the top half of the fifth. The Diamond Gents added a run on a wild pitch in the seventh to cut their deficit to 8-2. Bland's two-RBI double in the eighth made it 10-2 and Benoit's sac fly in the top of the ninth was the final scoring play of the game.
Game two recap: Washington University (Mo.) 3 Centenary 2
The Bears (1-0) scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally from a 1-0 deficit and edge the Diamond Gents in a battle of two teams receiving votes in the 2024 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Preseason Top 25 Poll.
Centenary pounded out 10 hits but left nine on base, struck out eight times, and made four errors. Washington University finished with seven hits, drew four walks, struck out 11 times, and left 10 on base. The Diamond Gents drew three walks and stole a base while the Bears swiped three bags.
All-American junior LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas) started on the mount for Centenary and received a no-decision. He went 6.1 innings and pitched well, allowing just two runs, one earned, and five hits with two BB and 10 K's. He faced 27 batters and threw 106 pitches – 64 for strikes. Herrera matched his single-game career-high with 10 K's after striking out the same number last season in the Diamond Gents' season-opening win against Ozarks at home.
Sophomore LHP Cody Myers (Friendswood, Texas) came in for Herrera in the seventh with two on and one out. He got a pop out for the second out and then walked SS Shane Pellegrino to load the bases. Myers then walked LF Sam Polk to bring in a run to make it 2-1 and then Harry Mauterer hit a ground ball up the middle behind second base which Boone fielded but could not get a grip on the ball to make a play and then as he bobbled the ball Pellegrino was sent home to tie the game and Boone wound up throwing to first wildly and late which scored 3B Evan Minarovic to give the Bears a 3-2 lead.
Parker Guthrie started on the mound for the Bears and went 3.2 innings and allowed two runs, both earned, and five hits with three BB and five K's. He faced 18 batters and threw 74 pitches -48 for strikes. Matt Lopes (1-0) came in for Guthrie and picked up the win in relief as he was superb, allowing no runs on just four hits in 4.1 innings. He faced 16 batters and threw 59 pitches (36 strikes). Clayton Miller pitched the ninth and allowed one hit while striking out the side to record the save. He faced four batters and threw just nine pitches with seven for strikes.
Freshman 1B Alex Miller (Cypress, Texas) hit his first home run of the season with two outs in the second to put Centenary up 1-0. Senior C Jake Gonce (Katy, Texas) came through with a two-out RBI single to make it 2-0 and Herrera continued to sail along until he ran into trouble in the seventh and gave way to Myers. Miller had two of Centenary's 10 hits, Gonce matched him with two, and Boone, Benoit, Pitts, Morse, sophomore DH Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Texas), and senior Julien DeLeon (Shreveport, La.) each had one. Bernhard and CF Brandon Buday each had two hits for the Bears and Pellegrino walked three times and scored a run, and all three players stole one base.
See the complete Diamond Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/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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