SHREVEPORT, La. - Senior Cole Lavergne threw his second complete game in as many starts and the Gents added six insurance runs late as Centenary (22-13, 13-2 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) blanked Austin College (13-15, 6-9 SCAC) 7-0 for the second straight contest in the series finale Saturday afternoon, April 21.
Lavergne now has gone 16.2 innings without allowing a run.
After no teams scored in the first three innings, senior Chris Zapata put the Gents up 1-0 with a solo shot to the porch in left - his fifth of the season and the first Centenary round tripper at Shehee Stadium in 2018. Freshman Chris Haggard lined his first collegiate home run to left to lead off the seventh to put the Gents up 2-0.
Up 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth, the Maroon and White tacked on four insurance runs to open a big lead. Junior Cameron Guin led off the inning with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on a flyout. Freshman Preston Ludwick followed with a shot to the gap in right center for an RBI triple, the first of his collegiate career. Haggard followed with a walk and stole second to put a pair in scoring position.
Freshman pinch hitter Tyler Erickson followed with a liner off the pitcher that squirted into left center to score Ludwick and Haggard. After a 'Roos error, sophomore Cody Crowder singled to left to score junior pinch hitter Charlie Allbritton.
Lavergne finished the complete game shutout on a seven pitch ninth inning. He allowed five hits with five strikeouts on 93 pitches (67 strikes) for the contest. No Austin College runner advanced past second base.
Crowder, Zapata, and Ludwick both managed a pair of hits and an RBI, while Zapata and Ludwick scored runs.
Austin College's best scoring opportunity came in the sixth. With one out, Nick Flynn and Oscar Gonzalez singled. Lavergne was able to get the strikeout for the second out. Then the 'Roos best hitter, Brett Taff, came to the plate. He grounded a ball between first and second. Junior second baseman Andrew Russell ranged far to his right and flipped to Lavergne alertly covering the bag at first to end the threat.
Taff, who made the D3baseball.com Team of the Week last week, finished the series 0-for-11 with a run scored. He also took his first loss of the season on the mound, falling to 3-1. Taff allowed nine hits and five runs in 7.1 innings of work.
Centenary celebrates the seniors next weekend when nationally-ranked Trinity comes to Shreveport April 28-29. First pitch of the Saturday double header is set for 1 p.m.
