Greensboro, N.C. – Four Centenary baseball players were named to the 2021 D3baseball.com West All-Region Team, it was announced on Tuesday.
The 2021 season marks the ninth year that D3baseball.com has named All-Region teams, with 940 players nominated. Senior Pitcher/First Baseman Preston Ludwick (Pflugerville, Texas) was named to the second team and was joined by fellow senior DH/OF Tyler Welch (Lake Charles, La.) while sophomore RHP Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) and senior RF Cody Crowder (Shepherd, Texas) each earned spots on the third team.
The versatile Ludwick led the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference this season in batting average, hits, RBI, and total bases and ranked in the top 10 in seven more individual statistical categories. He was superb on the mound as well as he was named the 2021 SCAC Pitcher of the Year after going 8-2 with a 4.09 ERA. He led the conference in wins, strikeouts, and opposing batting average and ranked second in ERA and innings pitched. He made 12 appearances (12 starts) and tossed one complete game.
He was a finalist for SCAC Hitter of the Year as he collected a team-high 65 hits, 49 RBI, and a .404 batting average. He earned First-Team All-SCAC honors at first base. Ludwick posted an impressive .492 OBP and a .571 slugging percentage. He struck out only nine times all season in 161 at-bats while drawing 26 walks. He had 17 extra-base hits, posted 21 multi-hit games and eight three-hit games. Ludwick drove in at least two runs in a game 13 times and seven times he had three or more RBI in a game.
He allowed just 30 earned runs and 44 hits in 66 innings pitched with 77 K's. He recorded seven or more strikeouts five times during the season highlighted by a career-high 11 in six innings of a 12-3 win over St. Thomas on April 17.
Welch had a superb senior season for the Gents as he hit .383 with an on-base percentage of .430 and slugged .539. He collected 49 hits, scored 28 runs, had 28 RBI, and had 14 extra-base hits which included 10 doubles. In 128 at-bats he only struck out 10 times while drawing 13 walks. He recorded 17 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games. Welch earned a spot on the 2021 SCAC Championship All-Tournament Team as he went 5-9 at the plate in two games with three RBI, four runs scored, and four doubles.
Primeaux had a breakout sophomore season as he earned First-Team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honors as a relief pitcher. He led the country in division III in saves with 10 and also led the conference in the category and led SCAC in ERA (3.22). In a team-high 27 appearances, Primeaux went 3-4 and in 64.1 innings pitched he allowed just 56 hits with only 23 earned runs. He struck out 58 batters and averaged 8.11 strikeouts per nine innings. Primeaux was named SCAC Pitcher of the Week on March 9.
Crowder capped his record-breaking Gents career with a stellar senior season. Crowder, one of the most decorated players in the D3 era of the program as he holds a multitude of individual records, ranked in the top 10 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference this season in 11 individual statistical categories. Crowder earned First-Team All-SCAC honors as an outfielder. He batted .331 with a .467 on-base percentage and a team-best .558 slugging percentage. He led the conference in total plate appearances, runs scored, and triples, was second in doubles, and third in total bases and hit by pitches. He ranked fifth in the league in stolen bases as he swiped 16 bags and was caught only once. He was named SCAC Hitter of the Week on March 25 and recorded 14 multi-hit games and had 10 games with two RBI or more. Crowder had 23 extra-base hits including 14 doubles. He made the squad for the second time in his career after also earning a spot on the third team as a freshman in 2017.
See the complete West All-Region Team here: https://www.d3baseball.com/awards/all-region/2021/west
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