Shreveport - The No. 20 Centenary baseball team was swept in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday by the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs, 14-4 in game one and then 8-4 in game two on the final day of the regular season at Shehee Stadium.
The Gents (30-9, 14-7 SCAC) entered Saturday's play unbeaten at home (17-0) this season and had only lost consecutive games twice previously. Texas Lutheran improved to 25-11 overall and 15-3 in SCAC play. Centenary took the series opener, 5-4, on Friday night.
The results were a disappointing way to close the regular season and put a damper on Senior Day for the 19 Gents honored, but overall nothing can overshadow the remarkable, and record-setting season Centenary has had to this point. The Gents have won 30 games in a season for just the second time in the division III era (2012-present) and 10th time in school history.
The Gents set a D3 era single-season record for home wins (17) and won their first 16 at Shehee Stadium. They swept five opponents at home this season and are 20-3 in their last 23 home games dating back to the beginning of last season. The Maroon and White are 39-13 overall (20-3 home/15-9 away/4-1 neutral) overall since the start of the abbreviated 2020 season.
Centenary, despite being in fourth place in the SCAC standings, is the conference's leader in overall wins and only TLU has won more conference games than the Gents. The Gents have reached double digits in conference wins every season but one since becoming a member of the SCAC prior to the 2013 season (conference games not played last season due to COVID-19).
The Gents, ranked for the seventh week in a row in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA poll, have been ranked as high as 14th in the poll this season. Centenary also won a program-record 18-straight games from march 4-April 6 as the Maroon and White amazingly went unbeaten for six-consecutive weeks and at the time owned the longest winning streak in the nation in division III.
Centenary won a division III era program-record 35 games in 2017 when the Gents advanced to the NCAA Tournament following a conference title. The Gents finished the regular season with single-digit losses for just the second time since 1967 (2017 the other occasion) and have earned a berth in next weekend's SCAC Championship. The annual tournament will be held Friday, May 7-9 at The Depot at Cleburne Station in Cleburne, Texas.
The Gents will be joined by Texas Lutheran, Trinity (25-5, 12-2 SCAC) and Southwestern (18-17, 13-5 SCAC) for the three-day, four-team, double-elimination tournament. Trinity and Southwestern are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Sunday. The first game of the series between the two teams was cancelled due to weather. Texas Lutheran is currently percentage points behind Trinity for the No. 1 seed in next week's tournament and for the regular-season title. The Gents will either be the No. 3 or 4 seed and the same is the case for Southwestern. TLU and Trinity will be the No. 1 and 2 seeds.
Game 1 Recap:
The Gents only trailed 5-3 through three innings but the Bulldogs added single runs from the fourth through the seventh and then put up five more in the ninth to run away with the 14-4 decision. TLU pounded out 17 hits against eight Centenary pitchers.
Centenary, though, collected 10 hits and had four extra-base hits. Junior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) led the way as he went 3-5 from the leadoff spot with two runs scored and a pair of doubles. Senior RF Cody Crowder (Shepherd, Texas) was 1-3 with two RBI and a triple. Senior 1B Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) went 2-5 with an RBI.
Senior left-hander Connor Lee (Sugarland, Texas) suffered the loss for the Gents as he started and lasted just two innings, allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits with no walks and one strikeout. TLU starter Joe Burch (6-1) was the winner as he went 6.1 innings and allowed just three runs, two earned, on six hits with one walk and one K.
Game 2 Recap:
The Bulldogs scored the first seven runs of the game but a pair in the fourth and fifth for the Gents cut TLU's lead to 7-4 midway through. But, the Bulldogs added a run in the top of the sixth and four TLU relievers kept Centenary off the scoreboard over the final four innings to seal the win and complete the sweep.
Nolan Tenpas, TLU's second pitcher of the day, picked up the win in relief of starter JT Taylor. Tenpas (3-1) went 1.1 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits with a walk and a strikeout. Senior Conner Poche (Lutcher, La.) started and took the loss for the Gents as he allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits in 1.1 innings with a walk and two strikeouts.
Senior DH Tyler Welch (Alexandria, La.) went 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Crowder and Ludwick each hit doubles and the Gents stole four bases in the game. Sophomore Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) pitched the final 3.1 innings and allowed just two hits with a strikeout. Primeaux also pitched the final 2.1 innings in relief of Ludwick on Friday night in the 5-4 Gents' win and was dominant as he struck out five of the seven batters he faced. He earned his SCAC and nation-best 10th save on Friday.
The full bracket for next weekend's SCAC Championship will be announced on Monday.
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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