San Antonio, Texas – The Centenary baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader to the No. 24 Trinity University Tigers on Saturday afternoon, falling 6-2 and 8-7 in 11 innings as the Diamond Gents were swept in a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series at Trinity Baseball Field.
Centenary (12-10, 4-5 SCAC) fell 7-2 in the series opener on Friday night. The No. 24 Tigers (16-9, 7-2 SCAC) improved to 15-6 at home this season and have now won five of the last six regular-season meetings against the Maroon and White.
Game 1 Recap: Trinity 6 Centenary 2
The Diamond Gents were quiet on offense, as Trinity starting pitcher Jackson Teer (5-1) and two relievers limited them to three hits. The Maroon and White drew four walks, struck out five times, made one error, and left on base. Trinity finished with eight hits, had three walks, struck out five times, made two errors, and left three on base.
Freshman RHP Aidan Reichek (Bellaire, Texas) started on the mound for Centenary and took the loss to fall to 1-1. He went 5.2 innings and allowed six runs, all earned, on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He allowed two home runs and faced 26 batters, hitting two. He threw 81 pitches (51 strikes). Freshman LHP Cody Myers (Friendswood, Texas) pitched the final 2.1 innings and allowed one hit with a walk and a K. He faced seven batters and threw 20 pitches (12 strikes).
Senior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) got the Diamond Gents on the board first with an RBI double down the right-field line to score senior SS Noah Koehmstedt (San Diego, Calif.) in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead. Trinity responded with three runs in the second and then Hewitt reached on a fielder's choice in the top of the third and junior C Jake Gonce (Katy, Texas) scored on a throwing error by SS Michael Montrezza to cut Centenary's deficit to 3-2.
Trinity then extended its lead in the sixth with a pair of long balls, a solo home run by C Tyler Pettit and a two-run shot by 2B Colt Harris. Centenary managed just three base runners over its final three at-bats as the Tigers sealed the win.
Game 2 Recap: Trinity 8 Centenary 7 (11 innings)
Centenary scored twice in the top of the first for a quick 2-0 lead, but Trinity answered with three in the second and two more in the fourth to take a 5-2 lead. But, the Diamond Gents regained the lead with four runs in the fifth to take a 6-5 lead.
Sophomore Zachery Van Gorkom (Shreveport, La.) came through in a big way as he pinch-hit to lead off the sixth inning and blasted a solo home run to make it 7-5 Centenary. CF Jack Peterson homered for the Tigers in the bottom half of the inning to get them a run closer at 7-6, and a bases-loaded walk tied the game at 7-7 in the eighth.
The Diamond Gents had a chance to break the tie in the top of the ninth as they had runners on the corners with only one out, but Koehmstedt struck out swinging for the second out and freshman DH Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Texas) flew out to center to end the inning.
Freshman RHP Jacob Broussard (Houston, Texas) retired the Tigers easily in the bottom of the ninth, including two strikeouts. Broussard entered the game after a walk by Myers tied the game in the eighth but he struck out Tigers' PH Hunter Nevilles to end the inning.
Both teams went down quietly in the 10th and the Diamond Gents were retired in order in the top of the 11th. RF Ezrah Gore reached on a throwing error by freshman 3B Clay Menard (Berwick, La.) and promptly stole second. LF Ty Preston was hit by a pitch and 1B Kai Tinker laid down a bunt and Gore scored on an errant throw by Broussard for a walk-off win for the Tigers.
Senior RHP Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) started for Centenary and received a no-decision. He went 7.1 innings and allowed seven runs, five earned, and nine hits with three walks and three K's and two home runs. He faced 35 batters, hitting one, and threw 139 pitches (86 strikes). Myers faced three batters – walking two and striking out one. Broussard (1-2) suffered the loss but still pitched well, going the final 2.1 innings and allowed one unearned run and on hit with no walks and four K's.
Cade McGahan started for Trinity and went 4.2 innings. He allowed six runs, all earned, and five hits with three walks and five K's. Harrison Durow went the next 2.2 innings and allowed one earned run and five hits along with a walk, a home run, and two K's. Jack Briese pitched an inning and gave up one hit and struck out one. Jack Martinez (3-0) picked up the win for the Tigers as he worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing no runs or hits with five K's.
Centenary finished with 12 hits, drew four walks, had two extra-base hits, and stole four bases. Trinity had 10 hits, drew five walks, had four extra-base hits, and stole two bases. The Diamond Gents struck out 13 times, left eight men on base, and committed five errors. The Tigers struck out eight times, left eight on base, and made two errors.
Hewitt and Koehmstedt each had three hits to pace the Centenary offense. Sophomore RF Cade LaBruyere (Iowa, La.) went 2-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Hewitt and Koehmstedt combined to finish 6-10 with two RBI, a run scored, and three stolen bases, two by Koehmstedt. Freshman LF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) finished 1-4 with two runs and two walks and junior 2B Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.) was 1-5 with a sacrifice fly RBI and a run scored. Menard finished 1-3 with a pair of walks, a run scored, and a stolen base.
Boone's sacrifice fly and a double steal by Centenary in which Koehmstedt stole second and Hewitt stole home made it 2-0 in the first. RBI hits by Hewitt, LaBruyere, and Koehmstedt in the fifth made it 6-5. Van Gorkom's blast made it 7-5 in the sixth, but the Maroon and White unfortunately would not score again.
The Diamond Gents look to snap their four-game losing streak when they return home next weekend for a three-game SCAC weekend series against the University of St. Thomas Celts (12-13, 2-7 SCAC) beginning on Friday, April 7 at 6 p.m. The Celts, who have lost seven games in a row, and Diamond Gents will wrap up the series on Saturday with a DH at 1 and 4 p.m.
Centenary head coach Mike Diaz is just four wins away from becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history. Diaz, currently in his 13th season, is 288-206-1, needs just three wins to match former HC Ed McCann, who coached from 1999-2010, and won 291 games. Diaz can tie McCann with a sweep over the Celts.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/schedule
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