Georgetown, Texas – The Centenary softball team split a doubleheader with the Southwestern University Pirates on Saturday, winning game one by a score of 9-7 and falling 5-1 in game two at Taylor-Sanders Field.
The Ladies (13-16, 8-4 SCAC) fell 8-5 in the series opener on Friday as the Pirates (10-21, 7-5 SCAC) won the series.
Game one recap: Centenary 9 Southwestern 7
The Ladies jumped out to a 3-0 lead after their first at-bat but the Pirates responded with three in the bottom of the first to tie the game. Two scoreless innings followed and then Centenary added three more in the top of the fourth to take a 6-3 lead.
Centenary added two more in the fifth to stretch its lead to 8-3, but the Pirates rallied with four in the bottom of the sixth to get within a run at 8-7. The Ladies, though, added an insurance run in the top of the ninth and secured the win.
The Ladies finished with nine hits, eight walks, just four strikeouts, left nine on base, and did not commit an error. The Pirates had 13 hits, walked three times, struck out twice, left seven on base, and made an error. Centenary's eight walks are the second-most that the Maroon and White have drawn in a game this season, just behind the nine against Hendrix on Feb. 24.
Sophomore P Alexis Roach (Pineville, La.) started and picked up the win, her first of the season, in the circle for the Ladies as she went 5.2 innings and allowed seven earned runs. Roach allowed 12 hits and all seven of her runs were earned along with three walks and two strikeouts, but her offense supported her enough to get her the win. She faced 30 batters, allowed one home run, and threw 99 pitches – 57 for strikes.
Sophomore P Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) came in for Roach and worked the final 1.1 innings to record her first save of the season. She allowed just one hit, facing five batters and throwing 12 pitches (10 strikes).
Mazlyn Heyer started for the Pirates and struggled as she faced just four batters and did not record an out. She allowed three earned runs on one hit with three walks and no strikeouts. Jaden Wheeler (1-7) relieved her and went the next 4.2 innings and suffered the loss. She allowed five runs, all earned, on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. She faced 24 batters and threw 96 pitches (60 strikes). Hailey Arrington was the Pirates' third and final pitcher of the game as she entered in the fifth and allowed one earned run on three hits with two walks and one strikeout in 2.1 innings. She faced 11 batters and threw 47 pitches, 26 for strikes.
Senior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) was 1-4 with three RBI, two runs scored, a walk, and two stolen bases from the leadoff spot for the Ladies, sophomore C Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) went 1-4 with two RBI, a walk, and a run scored, and sophomore 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) finished 2-4 with a run scored, a walk, and a stolen base. Freshman LF Taylor Good (Flower Mound, Texas) was 2-3 with a double, a walk, and three runs scored.
Sophomore SS Brooke Sandefur (Denham Springs, La.) was 1-3 with a walk and a run scored, senior 1B Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) was 1-3 with a walk, sophomore 3B Morgan Dawson (Natchitoches, La.) went 1-4 with a run, and senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) and sophomore DP Abigail Hodgson (Georgetown, Texas) each drew a walk but finished 0-3.
The Pirates were led by three hits apiece from Jodi Glenn-Millhouse and Victoria Jackson-Sears and Wheeler and Brooke Yanta each had two hits. Erica Otto finished 1-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Yanta had a double, Glenn-Millhouse tripled, and Otto homered off of Roach in the sixth.
Crow came in for Roach in the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs and allowed a single to Jackson-Sears that made it an 8-7 game, but she got Daniella Clark to pop out to end the inning and strand a pair. Crow then retired the Pirates in order in the seventh to seal the win.
Game one recap: Southwestern 5 Centenary 1
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead after an inning and after the Ladies scored once in the top of the third, the Pirates answered with a run in the bottom half to take a 3-1 lead. Southwestern scored single runs in the fifth and sixth and held Centenary scoreless the final four innings to secure the win and the doubleheader split.
The Ladies, despite getting a season-high tying 14 hits, were held to just one run as they left 11 on base and struck out six times. Centenary walked three times and did not commit an error. The Pirates had 10 hits, walked five times, struck out twice, left six on base, and also did not make an error. Centenary tallied 10+ hits in a game for the 14th time this season and have done so in five of its last 10 games. The Ladies also had 14 hits against Millsaps on Feb. 9.
Sophia Ytuarte (6-3) started and picked up the victory for the Pirates as she went the distance and allowed all 14 hits but just the one earned run in her seven innings of work with three walks and six strikeouts. She faced 34 batters and threw 106 pitches – 72 for strikes.
Crow (0-2) started the game in the circle for the Ladies and took the loss as she went two innings and allowed three runs, all earned, on four hits with three BB and no K. She faced 12 batters and threw 41 pitches – 21 for strikes. Hodgson relieved Crow and went 2.1 innings and allowed one earned run on three hits with a BB and a K. She faced 10 batters and threw 37 pitches – 22 for strikes. Sophomore P Riley Myers (Shreveport, La.) was the Ladies' third and final pitcher of the game as she went 1.2 innings and yielded one earned run on three hits with a BB and a K. She threw 28 pitches (15 strikes) and faced eight batters.
Cox finished off her impressive day by going 2-3 with a walk and a stolen base, Thrasher was 3-4 with the Ladies' lone RBI on a single in the third, and junior DP Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.) went 3-3 with a walk in just her third game of the season due to an injury. Stout was 2-4, Stokes went 1-4 with a run scored, and Dawson, Dominguez, and Sandefur each had one hit.
Jodi Glenn-Millhouse and Riley Glenn-Millhouse each had two hits, Samantha Saenz was 2-3 with an RBI, Otto was 1-1 with three walks and three runs scored, Yanta was 1-2 with two RBI and a walk, and Meghan McCarthy went 1-2 with an RBI and a walk.
Centenary hits the road again next weekend as the Maroon and White face SCAC leader and nationally-ranked Texas Lutheran University (19-2, 10-1 SCAC) in a three-game series in Seguin, Texas.
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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