CLEBURNE, Texas – Announced at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, five Centenary baseball players earned All-Conference accolades for the 2019 season.
Preston Ludwick as a first baseman and Cody Crowder in the outfield led the way with First Team honors. Connor Cudd received Second Team accolades as a relief pitcher while Chris Haggard and Andrew Russell were named Honorable Mention.
Ludwick led Centenary in 2019 in average (.382), on-base percentage (.475), slugging percentage (.569), hits (55), triples (four), and RBI (42). He also ranked second in the conference in average. Ludwick earned the final SCAC Player of the Week accolade for March after an outstanding series against Dallas. Ludwick went 10-for-12 (.833) on the weekend, slugging 1.500 and posting an .857 on base percentage. Ludwick drove in eight runs and scored four more with a pair of steals.
Crowder, who received Second Team All-Conference accolades in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, led the team, finished third in the conference, and ranks 33rd in the nation with 25 stolen bases, breaking the Centenary Division III era career record in that category earlier this season. Ranking second on the team with a .325 average, he led the team with 41 runs and 13 doubles.
Cudd received Second Team All-Conference recognition after finishing the season fourth in the conference in both ERA (3.17) and saves (four). In fact, he earned the save in every game of the Gents three game sweep of Schreiner this season, allowing just three hits and one run in 5.1 innings of work. Cudd also led the team with five victories.
Haggard received an Honorable Mention nod after being named to the First Team as a freshman last season. He finished the season second on the team in hits (52), runs (31), RBI (28), and third in average (.325). He also led the team and ranks 14th in the nation with 14 hit-by-pitches.
Finally, Russell earned Honorable Mention honors to end his Centenary career after being named to the First Team in 2017. He ended the season with a .314 average, finishing third on the team with 23 RBI and 28 runs scored. He also ranked fourth for the Gents with 43 hits. Russell also currently sits 18th in the nation in the toughest to strikeout category.
Centenary finished the season 18-24-1 and third in the SCAC with a 10-8 record
