Shreveport - The No. 19 Centenary baseball team extended its winning streak to 14 games as the Gents won a pair of one-run decisions, 4-3 and 5-4, on Saturday to complete a three-game weekend sweep over the Schreiner Mountaineers in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play at Shehee Stadium.

The Gents (20-2, 6-0 SCAC) won all three games of the series by a single run after working out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the top of the ninth of Friday's series opener to win 5-4.

Centenary continued its best start to a season in the division III era (2012-present) as the Maroon and White are one game ahead of the pace of the 2017 team that made the NCAA Tournament and was 19-3 after its first 22 games.

The Gents, who moved up to No. 19 in the country in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Week 5 poll on Tuesday, improved to 10-0 this season at home and the Gents are now 13-1 in their last 14 home games going back to the beginning of last season. Schreiner fell to 7-13 and 1-5 in SCAC play with the two losses on Saturday. Centenary is now an amazing 29-6 in its last 35 games and have not lost a game since falling 8-5 at Huntingdon back on Feb. 28.

Game one recap:

The Mountaineers scored a run in the top of the first and the Gents answered with a run of their own and then added single runs in the second and fifth innings to lead 3-1. Schreiner scored in the top of the sixth to tighten things but Centenary responded with a run in the seventh for a 4-2 lead. The Mountaineers cut it to 4-3 with a run in the top of the eighth but the Gents held on for their second-consecutive one-run win.

Senior right-hander Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) started and picked up the win to move to 5-0 as he allowed just two earned runs and four hits in 5.1 innings pitched with three walks and seven strikeouts. Sophomore Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) relieved Ludwick and picked up his sixth save of the season with a great outing, as he pitched the final 3.2 innings and allowed just one earned run and two hits with a walk and three K's.

Devin Hooper started for Schreiner and suffered the loss to fall to 0-4. He allowed three runs, all earned, and six hits in five innings of work with four walks and one strikeout. Isaiah Hernandez relieved Hooper and worked two innings, allowing one run in two innings on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Raine Uecker pitched a clean inning in the eighth.

Senior C Tyler Erickson (Houston, Texas) and senior 3B Chris Haggard (Lake Charles, La.) each had two hits to lead the Centenary offense. Erickson was 2-4 with an RBI and Haggard went 2-3 with a walk and a run scored. Senior right-fielder Cody Crowder (Shepherd, Texas) hit a solo homer, his third of the season, scored a pair of run, and walked twice. Junior SS Brady Robinson (Jacksonville, Texas) was 1-4 with an RBI. Ludwick drew two walks, had an RBI, and a stolen base.

3B Josh Gilliam and 1B Reece Hohhertz each had two hits to lead Schreiner, who was limited to just six hits by Centenary pitching. The Mountaineers struck out 10 times, committed an error, and issues six walks to Centenary hitters.

For the second day in a row Schreiner made things uncomfortable late as the Mountaineers cut the Centenary lead to 4-3 and had the bases loaded in the eighth, but Primeaux induced a key double play to end the threat and preserve the lead.

Game two recap:

Schreiner jumped out early, scoring a pair in the top of the first for an early 2-0 lead and added a single run in the top of the second. Centenary, however, responded with three in the bottom of the second to tie the game. Schreiner scored in the fourth to go ahead 4-3 but three runs in the fifth and sixth for Centenary made it a 6-4 game. The pesky Mountaineers scored one in the eighth to close within a run but once again the Gents' staff held them off for the 6-5 victory.

Senior Conner Poche (Lutcher, La.) started and pitched a season-high 7.2 innings to get the win and improve to 4-0. He allowed five runs, all earned, and 10 hits with a walk and four K's. Senior Andy Purpura (Bozeman, Mont.) pitched the final 1.1 innings to pick up the save, his first. Schreiner starter Chance Goins, the first of five pitchers of the game, took the loss to fall to 0-1 as he lasted five innings and allowed four runs, all earned, and five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Robinson had a big game as he went 2-3 with a homer, three RBI, and two runs scored. Junior catcher Ben Bridges (Beckville, Texas) was 2-4 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored, and senior LF Tyler Welch (Alexandria, La.) went 2-4. Haggard was 1-4 with two runs scored and sophomore DH Cole Collins (Shreveport) was 21-3 with an RBI.

The Gents had five extra-base hits as Robinson had a triple along with his home run and Bridges, Collins, and Welch all had doubles. Schreiner was led on offense by Goins (2-3, one RBI and one run), CF Seth Joseph (2-5, one RBI and one run), and Hohhertz (2-3 with two RBI, two walks, and a run scored).

The Mountaineers had the tying run on base with two outs in the eighth but Purpura got a groundout to end the inning and in the ninth, he got two quick outs but then hit a batter and walked two to load the bases. Purpura, though, got RF Jeffrey Williams to line out to Robinson at short to end the game.

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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