Shreveport - The Centenary softball team dropped a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday to the Hardin-Simmons University Cowgirls by scores of 3-2 and 7-3 as the Ladies opened their home schedule at the Centenary Softball Complex.
The Ladies (0-6) opened their season on Feb. 9 with a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Millsaps College and then returned to Jackson, Miss. on Feb. 13 and were swept in a DH at Belhaven University. Hardin-Simmons improved to 4-0 on the season after also recording a sweep on Saturday over the University of Dallas Crusaders in Irving, Texas.
Game one recap: Hardin-Simmons 3 Centenary 2
The Ladies jumped ahead 1-0 in their first at-bat but the Cowgirls responded with a run in the top of the second and two more in the third to take a 3-1 lead. Centenary scored once in the bottom of the third and that was it for both teams as four scoreless frames followed.
Hardin-Simmons finished with six hits and made one error while the Ladies had seven hits and did not commit an error. The Cowgirls drew two walks, struck out six times, and left six on base while the Ladies did not walk nor strike out and left seven on base.
Junior P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) started and took the loss to fall to 0-3 on the season as she pitched five innings and allowed three runs, all earned, with no BB and three K's. She faced 20 batters and threw 55 pitches – 36 for strikes. Sophomore Abigail Hodgson (Georgetown, Texas) came in for Scarbrock and pitched the final two innings and allowed no runs and a hit with one K and two BB. She faced 10 batters, hitting one, and threw 31 pitches (17 strikes).
Haven Williams (1-0) went the distance for the Cowgirls as she allowed two runs, one earned, and seven hits in her seven innings of work with no BB or K's. She faced 30 batters, hit one, and threw 78 pitches (59 strikes).
Senior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle and sophomore 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) moved her over with a sacrifice bunt. Senior 1B Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) flew out and Cox advanced to third. Sophomore 3B Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) then came through with a clutch, two-out single up the middle to score Cox. Erin Love's sacrifice fly tied the game in the second and RF Emily Jacob's two-out double in the top of the third brought home a pair to give the Cowgirls a 3-1 lead.
Cox singled to begin the bottom of the third and Stole second. After Stokes popped out, Dominguez reached base on an error by SS Jazlynn Cantu and Cox scampered to third and raced home on the throw which moved Dominguez to second. Williams, though, kept her team ahead by retiring Thrasher and sophomore C Morgan Dawson (Natchitoches, La.) to end the threat.
Each team had scoring chances in the sixth but ended in nothing as both the Cowgirls and Ladies left two on base. Hodgson relieved Scarbrock to start the sixth and walked two of the first three batters she faced, but recorded a strikeout and retired pinch-hitter Ashley Easley on a groundout to strand a pair.
In the bottom of the sixth, Thrasher grounded out to third and Dawson was hit by a pitch. Freshman LF Janae Bland (Livingston, Texas) singled through the left side to move Dawson to second. Junior Emma Shepherd (Athens, La.) then pinch hit for freshman Noelle Sandmann (Huntsville, Texas) and hit into a fielder's choice as Dawson was cut down at third and Bland moved to second. Senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) then hit into an inning-ending fielder's choice to short as Bland was thrown out at third base.
Hodgson kept the Ladies within a run as she worked her way out of a jam in the top of the seventh, standing two, headed to their final at-bat. Sophomore SS Brooke Sandefur (Denham Springs, La.) grounded out to begin the seventh but Cox singled for her third hit of the game. Stokes' sacrifice bunt moved Cox to second as the Ladies had the potential tying run in scoring position. Williams, though, was able to retire Dominguez on a fly out to right to end the game.
Cox led the Ladies with a 3-4 effort at the plate and scored two runs and Thrasher, Bland, Stout, and Shepherd each had one hit. Cowgirls' LF Haley Henson had two hits and four others had one hit each. Jacobs was 1-4 with the two-run double and struck out once.
Game two recap: Hardin-Simmons 7 Centenary 3
Both offenses started fast as the Cowgirls scored twice in their first at-bat and the Ladies answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half. Hardin-Simmons then scored three times in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead and added single runs in the fifth and seventh. Centenary did not score over its final six at-bats and was held to just one hit in the game by Hardin-Simmons starting pitcher Kelly Shackelford. The Cowgirls finished with 10 hits and made two errors along with two BB and two K's and left five on base. The Ladies drew five walks and struck out once while committing one error and leaving four on base.
Sophomore P Alexis Roach (Pineville, La.) started in the circle for the Ladies and suffered the loss to fall to 0-2 on the season. She allowed six runs, five earned, and 10 hits in five innings with a BB and a K. She faced 25 batters and threw 80 pitches (50 strikes). Sophomore P Riley Myers (Shreveport, La.) replaced her and pitched the final two innings and allowed one earned run and one hit with a BB and a K. She hit one, facing eight total batters, and threw 21 pitches with nine for strikes.
Shackelford was stingy as she went the distance and allowed just the lone hit – a first-inning single to Bland. She only allowed three more baserunners the rest of the way and retired the final 11 batters in order. Stokes drew a one-out walk in the third, Dawson was hit by a bitch with two outs in that same innings, and Stout reached on an error with one out in the fourth and that was it for the Ladies. Shackelford allowed three runs, two earned, with five BB and one K. She faced 28 batters, hit one, and threw 91 pitches with 51 going for strikes.
CF Lindsey Ratcliffe put the Cowgirls ahead 1-0 with an RBI single that score Henson and 3B Madi Hubbard produced an RBI groundout for a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Cox walked and stole second and Stokes sacrificed her to third. Dominguez walked and attempted to steal second but was thrown out, yet Cox raced home on the throw to make it a 2-1 game. Thrasher and Dawson walked and Bland delivered a two-RBI single to center to put the Ladies ahead 3-2. Sophomore DP Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) then flew out to end the inning.
Hubbard scored on a wild pitch by Roach to tie the game at 3-3 in the fourth, Easley scored on an RBI ground out by Love, and Henson put the Cowgirls up 5-3 with an RBI single. Jacobs scored on an Easley RBI single in the fifth to make it a 6-3 game and Hubbard delivered a sacrifice fly in the seventh to cap the scoring and give Hardin-Simmons a 7-3 lead.
The first five batters in the Ladies' order – Cox, Stokes, Dominguez, Thrasher, and Dawson each drew a walk in the game and Cox, Thrasher, and Dawson all scored one run each, but Bland's early two-RBI hit was all the offense Centenary could muster. Cox' stolen base in the first inning was her second of the day and seventh of the season.
The Ladies will head back on the road this weekend as they face the Hendrix College Warriors on Saturday, Feb. 24 in Conway, Ark. for a non-conference doubleheader set for Noon and 2 p.m. The Warriors are 2-2 so far this season.
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.
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