Ladies Swept In DH At Millsaps To Open Season

Jackson, Miss. – The Centenary softball team was swept in a non-conference doubleheader on Friday by the Millsaps College Majors as the Ladies opened their 2024 season at the Millsaps Softball Complex.

The Ladies (0-2) lost game one by a score of 6-1 and dropped the second game, 6-5. The Majors (2-0) returned the favor on Friday after the Ladies recorded a DH sweep in Shreveport last season.

Game one recap: Millsaps 6 Centenary 1

Millsaps scored three times in its first at-bat and added single runs in the third, fifth, and sixth innings while the Ladies scored their lone run of the game in the top of the sixth.

Millsaps finished with nine hits and Centenary had six. The Majors drew one walk, struck out three times, left three on base, and committed two errors. Centenary did not draw a walk, struck out four times, left five on base, and played error-free ball.

Sophomore 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) and sophomore C Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) led the way on offense as they each collected two hits and senior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) and freshman LF Janae Bland (Livingston, Texas) each had one. Cox scored the Ladies' only run in the top of the sixth inning after she singled and stole second and Stokes singled and Cox advanced to third and scored on an error by Millsaps CF Molli Perry. Cox went 1-3 with a run scored and a stolen base.

Millsaps 1B Kinsey Smith was 2-3 with three RBI and a run scored, Perry was 2-3 with two runs scored, and SS Alli Nolen was 1-2 with a walk and two runs scored. 3B Camille Black finished 1-3 with a run scored and a stolen base, C Julia Strain went 1-3 with an RBI, and P Allana Vasquez went 1-3 with two RBI.

Vasquez was the winning pitcher for the Majors as she went the distance and allowed just the one unearned run on six hits with no walks and four strikeouts. She faced 27 batters and threw 85 pitches, 56 for strikes.

Junior P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) started for the Ladies and suffered the loss as she went five innings and allowed five runs, all earned, and seven hits with a walk and two K's. She faced 22 batters and threw 64 pitches – 42 for strikes. Sophomore RHP Riley Myers (Shreveport, La.) relieved her and went an inning and allowed one earned run and two hits with a strikeout. She faced five batters and threw 17 pitches – nine strikes.

Smith doubled home Perry for the Majors' first run of the game and Vasquez delivered a two-RBI single to score Smith and Nolen to make it 3-0. Smith brought Perry home on an RBI groundout in the third to make it a 4-0 game and Smith's RBI single scored Nolen in the fifth for a 5-0 Millsaps lead.

The Ladies had a chance to score more than their single run in the sixth but Vasquez worked out of a jam. After Cox scored with one out, Thrasher singled to move Stokes to second. A passed ball moved Stokes to third and Thrasher to second but pinch hitter sophomore Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) popped out for the second out and senior 1B Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) popped out to left field for the final out. Strain's RBI double in the bottom of the sixth was the final run of the game to make it 6-1.

Game two recap: Millsaps 6 Centenary 5

The Ladies jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Cox singled to center and promptly stole second base. Stokes' ground out moved Cox to third and Thrasher came through with an RBI groundout.

The Majors tied the game in the bottom of the second as 2B Kadence Cannon delivered a two-out RBI single off of the Ladies' starter pitching - sophomore Alexis Roach (Pineville, La.). Millsaps took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Vasquez and a groundout by Camille Black. The Ladies scored an unearned run in the fifth to cut their deficit to 3-2, but the Majors added one in the bottom half to make it 4-2. Each team scored single runs in the sixth inning as well. Bland singled with two outs to score Dominguez and in the bottom half, Strain's RBI ground out brought Black home.

Down 5-3 entering their final at-bat, the Ladies started their rally with one out. Thrasher doubled after Stokes grounded out to begin the inning. Sophomore Abigail Hodgson (Georgetown, Texas) singled to left and moved Thrasher to third. Hodgson then stole second base and Thrasher scored to make it 5-4 with just one out. Dominguez popped out to second for out number two but senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) singled to left and Hodgson advanced to third. Stout then stole second to put the tying and potential winning run in scoring position. Sophomore 3B Morgan Dawson (Natchitoches, La.) then came through with a clutch RBI single to score Hodgson and tie the game but Stout was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

Crow, who came in to pitch in relief of Roach in the sixth, allowed a leadoff single to Perry to start the Majors' seventh and Perry then stole second. Nolen singled and advanced to second on the throw as Perry went to third. Kinsey Smith then ended the game with a sacrifice fly to center to score Perry for the walk off win.

Roach received a no-decision for the Ladies as she went five innings and allowed four runs, all earned, on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts. She faced 23 batters and threw 78 pitches – 49 for strikes. Crow (0-1) suffered the loss as she worked 1.1 innings and allowed two runs, both earned and three hits and did not walk or strike out a batter. She faced seven batters and threw 13 pitches (7 strikes).

Abigail Smith (1-0) got the win for the Majors as she went five innings and allowed two runs, one earned, and seven hits with no BB or K and faced 22 batters, throwing 42 pitches (25 strikes). Brianna Newman went the final two innings and gave up three runs, all earned, and seven hits with one BB and one K. She threw 38 pitches (24 strikes) and faced 12 batters.

The Ladies finished with 14 hits, two extra-base hits, a BB, just one K, left seven on base, and did not commit an error. The Majors had 12 hits, drew two BB, struck out twice, left four on base, and made two errors.

Cox went 3-4 with two runs scored and three stolen bases and Bland, Dawson, Dominguez, and Stout each had two hits. Nolen finished 4-4 with two runs to lead the Majors' offense and Vasquez went 3-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Cox, the program leader in stolen bases in a career in the division III era (2012-present), recorded her 16^th career multi-stolen base performance and stole three or more for the seventh time.

Centenary will return to action as the Ladies face the Belhaven University Blazers in a non-conference DH on Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Jackson, Miss.

See the complete Ladies' season schedule here:  https://centenary.prestosports.com/sports/sball/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.

#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity