Shreveport- The Centenary baseball team will welcome the Dubuque (Iowa) University Spartans to town this weekend for a three-game non-conference series beginning on Thursday evening and concluding on Saturday at Shehee Stadium.
Game one: Thursday, March 4 at 6 p.m.
Game two: Friday, March 5 at 5 p.m.
Game three: Saturday, March 6 at Noon
Live stats and live video will be available for all three games at the links below:
Live stats: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/boxscores/20210304_i6wr.xml
Live video: https://www.collegetvticket.com/portal/centenary
The Gents (6-2) won two of three games last weekend on the road over the Huntingdon College Hawks in Montgomery, Ala. Centenary fell 8-5 on Sunday in the final game of the series but swept a doubleheader the day before in convincing fashion, winning by scores of 10-6 and 4-0. The Spartans, members of the American Rivers Conference, will make their season debut this weekend.
Despite the loss on Sunday, centenary had 10 hits in the game, marking the sixth time this season in eight total games that the Maroon and White have collected double-digit hits in a game. Senior first baseman Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) went 3-4 with an RBI and two runs scored on Sunday and had a superb weekend at the plate as he was 6-11 (.545) with three RBI, four runs scored, two doubles, and two walks. Senior second baseman Tyler Erickson (Houston, Texas) went 2-3 with two RBI and senior DH Tyler Welch (Alexandria, La.) went 2-5.
Centenary has now scored 10 or more runs in a game in four of their last five ballgames. The Gents put up staggering numbers on offense during their four-game winning streak, scoring 39 runs on 51 hits as they outscored the opposition 39-13. The 4-0 win last Saturday against Huntingdon marked Centenary's first shutout of the season and first since blanking Eureka 12-0 on Feb. 22, 2019.
Erickson leads the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in hits with 13 and currently ranks sixth with a .433 batting average and is eighth with a .541 on-base percentage. Ludwick is second in the league in hits (11) and is tied for ninth in on-base percentage (.500)
The Gents are dominating the runs scored category as senior third baseman Chris Haggard (Lake Charles, La.) and fellow senior right fielder Cody Crowder (Shepherd, Texas) lead the way with nine runs scored each, Ludwick is tied for third with eight, junior Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) and junior shortstop Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas) are tied for sixth with six. Crowder is sixth in the SCAC with a .677 slugging percentage.
Crowder is the conference leader in total bases, tied for first in the conference in home runs, tied for second in triples, first in doubles, tied for third in hits, and tied for fifth in RBI.
The versatile Ludwick has been impressive on offense but also on the mound. He for the Maroon and White last Saturday in game two of the DH versus Huntingdon and was masterful as he pitched a complete-game shutout. He allowed just four hits and one walk with 7 K's. Wallace Hendry took the loss for the Hawks as he gave up three runs, all earned, and five hits in six innings with four walks and 4 K's. Ludwick has a team-best 2.08 so far this season.
Senior left-hander Connor Lee (Sugarland, Texas) is -1 so far this season and was named the SCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 16 for the first time in his career after he pitched in both of the Gents' games of their opening week and in seven innings pitched he did not allow an earned run with five strikeouts and no walks in leading Centenary to a pair of non-conference wins over Louisiana College (6-1) and ETBU (7-4). Sophomore Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) is 1-1 with two saves and a 3.07 ERA this season.
Centenary remains at home next week as the Gents face LeTourneau in a DH on Friday, March 12 with games set for 3 and 6 p.m.
Live stats and live video are available for all home contests.
A link to the Gents' complete 2021 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2020-21/schedule
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