No. 3 Seed Diamond Gents Begin Conference Title Defense On Friday
The No. 3 seed Centenary baseball team will face No. 2 seed Trinity University on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the opening round of the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
Cleburne, Texas- The No. 3 seed Centenary baseball team will face No. 2 seed Trinity University on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the opening round of the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
The double elimination tournament begins on Friday at 1 p.m. as No. 1 seed Texas Lutheran University (27-13, 17-4 SCAC) will face No. 4 seed Southwestern (15-12, 12-7 SCAC) and continues through Sunday, May 7. Trinity, which swept Centenary at home in the regular season, enters the weekend at 25-14 overall and 16-5 in SCAC play.
All games will be live streamed through the league's partnership with Sportsgram: https://www.meridix.com/live.php?liveid=Sportsgram6
Live stats link & Championship Central: https://scacsports.prestosports.com/tournament/spring/baseball/23championships/index
The Diamond Gents (22-13, 13-7 SCAC) aim to defend their 2022 title and are back in the SCAC Tournament for the 10th time as they have appeared in every edition since joining the conference prior to the 2013 season. Centenary, also the No. 3 seed last season, defeated No. 1 seed Trinity by a score of 10-5 in last season's title game to advance to the NCAA Division III Championship for just the second time in the division III era (2012-present). Centenary's memorable season came to an end on May 21 in LaGrange, Ga. when the Diamond Gents fell 14-9 to the Panthers after dropping a pair of games the day before to lose the "best of five" series 3-0.
Centenary has enjoyed incredible success in the event, winning titles last season and in 2017 and have finished as runner-up three times (2013, 2015, 2018). The Diamond Gents have now won 10 or more regular season conference games in every season since joining the SCAC (2013-present) and have won 13 or more seven times.
The Diamond Gents arrive in Cleburne riding a season-best six-game winning streak after they finished the regular season last weekend with a three-game series sweep at Austin College. Centenary finished with 15+ hits in all three games and collected a total of 48 while holding the 'Roos to a total of 11.
The Diamond Gents finished the regular season scoring double digit runs in a game 10 times and posted 10+ hits in a game an impressive 21 times. They have done so in eight games in a row and posted 15+ hits in a game six times and did so in all three games of the Austin College series.
Diamond Gents' head coach Mike Diaz became the all-time winningest coach in program history with his 292nd win with the Maroon and White on April 16 at home versus Schreiner. Diaz, currently in his 13th season, is now 298-209-1, and has passed former HC Ed McCann (1999-2010).
Diaz, the longest-tenured Centenary head coach, has led Centenary to a stellar 108-43 record in conference games and has led the Diamond Gents to SCAC regular season titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018, conference tournament titles in 2017 and 2022, and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.
All-American senior RHP Parker Primeaux (Lake Charles, La.) is 7-0 this season with a 2.03 ERA in 18 appearances and eight starts. He ranks 40th in the country and second in the conference in ERA. Trinity's Jack Martinez has a 2.02 ERA but has pitched 35.1 LESS Innings than Primeaux. Primeaux is the league leader in innings pitched (75.1), second in appearances, second in wins, second in saves (three), and is sixth in strikeouts (67).
He tossed a complete game in the Diamond Gents' 6-1 victory over Austin College last weekend on the road as he allowed just one unearned run and four hits in his nine innings of work with one walk and a career-high 12 strikeouts.
The complete game was his second of the season and fourth of his career and marked the second weekend in a row he threw one after tossing a complete-game shutout against Southwestern University on April 22. He was named the SCAC Pitcher of the Week after his complete game against Southwestern.
Primeaux needs just one save to tie former All-American Taylor Henry for the all-time program record (17) in the division III era (2012-present). He is the leader of a Centenary pitching staff that ranks third in the country in division III in team ERA (3.08) which is on pace to be the lowest ERA in a season in the current D3 era (2012-present). The current record is 3.14 in the 2018 season.
Freshman RHP Aidan Reichek (Bellaire, Texas) has burst onto the scene as a rookie this season as he is fifth in the conference in ERA (2.42) and tossed a no-hitter against Dallas at home on March 25, which was the first thrown since Matthew Devillier held Austin College hitless on April 20, 2018 at home. Reichek and Devillier's no-hitters are the only two in the division III era (2012-present) in program history. He is 3-1 with two CG's in 12 appearances and six starts. In 48.1 IP, he has struck out 42 and walked only 13. He nearly threw his second no-hitter of the season on April 22 against Southwestern as he held the Pirates hitless for 6.2 innings.
Centenary has recorded five shutouts this season and five run-rule victories. The Diamond Gents are hitting .304 as a team with a .379 on-base percentage and slugging .384. The Diamond Gents have scored 238 runs, an average of 6.8 runs per game and have hit eight home runs, collected 69 extra-base hits, and stolen 82 bases.
Freshman OF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) is Centenary's leading hitter as has been one of the top players all season in the conference. The rookie is hitting a team-best .394 (.469 OBP/.512 slugging) with a team-high 50 hits, 39 runs scored, and eight doubles. He also has two triples, a homer, 18 RBI, 16 BB, and 12 stolen bases as he ranks in the top 10 in the conference in a multitude of offensive categories. Livesay has only struck out 20 times in 127 at-bats this season compared to 16 walks. He has 16 multi-hit games this season including eight 3-hit performances.
Junior 2B Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.) is the team leader in RBI (26) and is hitting .328 (.380 OBP/.388 slugging) with 44 hits, 27 runs scored, five doubles, a homer, nine stolen bases, and in 134 at-bats he has struck out just nine times while drawing seven walks. He has 13 multi-hit performances this season which includes a 5-hit game and a pair of 3-hit games.
Senior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) is hitting .348 (.386 OBP/.411 slugging) with 49 hits (second on team), 34 runs, 23 RBI, and a team-high 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts. Hewitt has five doubles and two triples, and in a team-high 141 at-bats has just nine strikeouts compared to nine walks. He has 15 multi-hit games and is riding a season-high 10-game hitting streak in which he is hitting a sizzling .447 (21-47) with 10 RBI, 15 runs scored, three doubles, three walks, and six stolen bases. He has also not struck out in his last 50 at-bats.
Other Offensive Players to Watch:
Junior RF Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.)
.346 (.402 OBP/.543 slugging) 81 AB 28 H 22 runs 18 RBI
3 HR (leads team) Three doubles, two triples, six BB, four SB's
Freshman DH Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Texas)
.300 (.365 OBP/.342 slugging) 120 AB 36 H 16 runs 25 RBI
Five doubles, 10 BB, three SB's
Freshman 3B Clay Menard (Berwick, La.)
.345 (.461 OBP/.369 slugging) 84 AB 29 H 17 runs 12 RBI
Two doubles, 17 BB, two SB's
Freshman 1B Collin Pitts (Lufkin, Texas)
.351 (.420 OBP/.486 slugging) 74 AB 26 H 11 runs 18 RBI
Two homers, four doubles, 10 BB, seven SB's
Other Pitchers to Watch:
Freshman RHP Jacob Broussard (Houston, Texas)
1-3 2.13 ERA 17 APP (1 start) 25.1 IP 8 BB 18 K
Senior RHP Christian Diaz (Houston, Texas)
1-2 1.08 ERA 8 APP (0 starts) 16.2 IP 2 BB 12 K
All-American sophomore LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas)
5-4 3.73 ERA 10 APP (10 starts) 62.2 IP 21 BB 69 K 2 CG's
Freshman LHP Cody Myers (Friendswood, Texas)
3-1 3.38 ERA 15 APP (6 starts) 34.2 IP 14 BB 33 K 1 save
Relive the Diamond Gents' 2022 title here: https://scacsports.prestosports.com/tournament/spring/baseball/22championships/index
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change.
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