SHREVEPORT, La. – Centenary Baseball will play its final home games of the season this weekend when it welcomes #6 Texas Lutheran to Shehee Stadium for a key Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series on Friday and Saturday, April 12-13.
The schedule as of right now is a single game on Friday at 6 p.m. with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Seniors Charlie Allbritton, Kyle Barron, Cameron Guin, and Andrew Russell will be honored following the final game of the series.
The 2019 senior class has had a successful four seasons at Centenary. Achievements include two Regular Season SCAC Championships, the 2017 SCAC Tournament Championship, the first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and win in 2017, three SCAC Tournament appearances, and the highest national ranking in school history (sixth in 2017).
Allbritton enters the weekend having appeared in 50 games during his Gents baseball career with nine hits, 14 runs scored, and four RBIs. This season, he tallied his first multi-hit game on March 23 against Dallas, including a double and three runs scored, in a key 11-5 comeback win. He even added his first triple in the Gents 14-7 win at Austin College March 16.
However, one of the most critical runs scored of his collegiate career came his junior season against Southwestern in the first game of a doubleheader April 7. With the score tied at five in the bottom of the ninth, Allbritton was inserted as a pinch runner after a leadoff walk. After being sacrificed to second, he scored the game-winning run when former Gent Chris Zapata singled.
He was also named the 2018 Gent of the Year by his fellow student-athletes as well as the SCAC Academic Honor Roll following his sophomore and junior seasons.
A business administration major, Allbritton serves Centenary as a Student Ambassador and representative of the Frost School of Business. He is also a member of Phi Beta Lambda and Kappa Alpha Order. Following graduation, he plans to pursue a master's in business administration.
As for Allbritton's favorite memory as a Diamond Gent, he stated "There's too many memories as a GENT to pick out one specifically, but I would just have to sum it all up and say it's been a blessing to spend every day with my brothers – The privilege we had to wake up every day and play this great game. The camaraderie among my teammates is something I'll never forget and the bonds we've made will last a lifetime."
Barron has appeared on the mound in 11 games for the Gents with an 0-2 record in 2019. He is also second on the team with two saves. He earned his first collegiate save on February 24 against Millsaps, when he threw the final four innings and allowed three hits and allowed a single run while striking out two in the Gents 11-1 win. He also recorded a save in his next appearance, allowing just two hits while striking out three in three innings of work in the Gents 11-5 win at Whittier in California.
A biology and biochemistry major, Barron has been named to the SCAC Scholars list after both his freshman and junior seasons. At Centenary, he is involved with the Honor Court, the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, the Maroon Jackets, the AED Premedical Honor Society, and the Tribeta Biological Honor Society. After graduation from Centenary with honors in biology, he plans to attend the LSU School of Medicine either in Shreveport or New Orleans.
In his seasons with Gents Baseball, Barron's favorite memory is when the team dogpiled on the field at Shehee after the Gents wrapped up their second-consecutive SCAC Regular Season title on the final day of the season with a win against Trinity in 2018.
Guin will finish his Gents baseball career as a four-year starter. In the Gents NCAA Division III era, he enters the weekend second in triples (nine) and sacrifice bunts (19), sixth in RBIs (91), hits (144), games played (154) and at-bats (504), seventh in total bases (197), eighth in walks (49) and runs scored (89), ninth in stolen bases (28), and 10th in home runs (four).
Guin was also named Honorable Mention All-Conference following his sophomore season and Second Team All-SCAC following his junior year.
A business major at Centenary, Guin is an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was also named to the SCAC Academic Scholar's List after the 2018 season. After graduation, he intends to be a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual in Shreveport. Guin's favorite memories with Gents Baseball include jumping in the pool following the 2017 SCAC Tournament Championship and watching one of the best teammates he has ever had, Khalil Wyatt, getting his first collegiate hit last year against Austin College.
Our final senior to be recognized will be Russell, who transferred to Centenary prior to the 2017 season. A fixture in the Centenary infield each of the past three seasons, Russell earned First Team All-Conference accolades and appeared on the All-Tournament team in 2017 after finishing fifth on the team with a .347 batting average. During the NCAA Division III era at Centenary, Russell comes into the weekend third in sacrifice flies (10), fourth in sacrifice bunts (13) and assists (272), and 10th in stolen bases (27) and runs scored (78).
A communications major, following the season, Russell plans to finish his Centenary academic career and be a student assistant coach on the baseball team. As with Guin, his favorite memory as a Diamond Gent is beating Trinity to win the 2017 SCAC Tournament and all the players and coaches jumping in the pool down the right field line of the stadium.
Centenary baseball will conclude the season on the road at Southwestern April 26-27. Should it qualify for the SCAC Tournament, it will be contested at The Depot at Cleburne Stadium for the second-straight year May 3-5.
