Kerrville, Texas - The Centenary baseball team hits the road for a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series against the Schreiner University Mountaineers beginning on Thursday at 2 p.m. at Bob Henry Field.
Live stats and live video are available for the game and the entire series at the following links:
Stats: https://www.schreinermountaineers.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/boxscores/20240328_s921.xml
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/schreiner/
The Diamond Gents (9-9, 4-1 SCAC) and Mountaineers (7-16, 2-3 SCAC) will play a doubleheader on Friday at Noon and 3 p.m. to complete the series. Centenary has won three games in a row and four of its last five games. The Diamond Gents swept Austin College at home last weekend, outscoring the 'Roos 24-9. Centenary is 5-5 on the road this season. Schreiner, 3-6 at home this season, lost two of three to Trinity University last weekend at home.
Centenary enters the weekend as the SCAC's top hitting club with a .319 team batting average and boasts a .398 on-base percentage and is slugging .440. The Diamond Gents' batting average is top 60 in the nation. The Diamond Gents are averaging 7.2 runs per game, have scored 129 total runs, and have hit 12 home runs. They have 50 extra-base hits, 36 stolen bases, and have posted at least 10 hits in a game in 14 of 18 games this season.
Centenary has 208 hits which are ranked in the top 50 in the country and the Diamond Gents have scored 10+ runs in a game seven times this season. Centenary has stolen 36 bases this season and have stolen multiple bases in a game 10 times and stole a season-high five against Trinity on March 9. The Diamond Gents have a team ERA of 5.22
Centenary has had two players win SCAC Player of the Week awards so far this season - Freshman 1B Alex Miller (Cypress, Texas) was named Hitter of the Week on Feb. 27 and Sophomore LHP Cody Myers (Friendswood, Texas) earned the honor on Monday of this week.
Miller was also named the Div. III Rookie of The Month by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Feb. 28 after he batted .462 (12-for-26) with nine runs, eight RBI, five walks, three homers, and two doubles in the month of February. He posted four multi-hit games over the seven he played in, headlined by a 3-for-5 day with two doubles, a run scored, and RBI in a 13-3 win at Occidental on Feb. 24. Miller went 5-for-13 with four runs, four RBI, and two homers in the Gents' three-game sweep of Occidental. He is hitting .369 this season with a .455 OBP and is slugging .585.
Myers enters the weekend as one of the country's top pitchers in all of division III as he ranks 24th nationally in ERA (1.04) and is 5-1 in seven appearances and five starts. Myers had a sensational week this past week as he went 2-0 in two appearances, both starts, as he allowed just one earned run in 14.1 IP with three walks and 16 strikeouts. He started in game one of Centenary's DH at Dallas on March 18 and was superb as he went seven innings and allowed just two hits with a season and career-high 13 strikeouts.
Myers' 13 K's are tied for the second-most in a single game in the division III era (2012-present) in program history. He faced 25 batters and threw 134 pitches with 81 for strikes. He picked up the win in Centenary's 3-2 win over Austin College last Saturday as he allowed just one earned run in 7.1 IP and one walk with three K's.
Centenary has seven regular players hitting .300 or better led by sophomore LF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) .395 batting average. Senior SS Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.) is hitting .364, sophomore 3B Clay Menard (Berwick, La.) is batting .355, senior C Jake Gonce (Katy, Texas) is hitting .373, senior RF Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.) is hitting .329, and sophomore CF Collin Pitts (Lufkin, Texas) is hitting .324.
Livesay and Miller are tied for the team lead in home runs (3), Benoit's 20 RBI lead the team, Livesay is the team leader in stolen bases with 11, Benoit and Livesay share the team lead in doubles (8), and Pitts lead the team in triple with two. Livesay is the team leader in hist with 30 and is one of seven players with 20+ hits on the season.
Schreiner has a team batting average of .283 with an OBP of .357 and is slugging .368. The Mountaineers are averaging five runs per game, have 223 hits, five home runs, and have a team ERA of 7.52.
The Mountaineers are led on offense by the dependable duo of senior OF Aidan Warren and senior C Gerardo Cardoza, who are both hitting .400 or better. They are tied for the team lead in hits (40) and Cardoza has a team-high 16 RBI. Junior RHP Luke Rogers has a team-low 3.55 ERA and is 1-0 in four appearances and has two saves. Freshman RHP Trey Bennett is 1-2 with a 3.86 in seven appearances (seven starts), and junior RHP Fito Mendez leads the team in wins (three) and is 3-2 with seven appearances with seven starts and a 5.18 ERA.
Centenary recorded a three-game series sweep over Schreiner last season at home and head coach Mike Diaz, now in his 14th season with the Diamond Gents, became the all-time winningest coach in program history with his 292nd win on April 16, 2023 in the final game of the series. The Diamond Gents have never lost a series to the Mountaineers.
The Diamond Gents are atop the conference standings, a half-game ahead of both Trinity and Southwestern who are each 4-2. The University of Dallas is 3-2 and the University of St. Thomas is 3-3.
Centenary was picked to finish second in the conference this season in the preseason poll released on Jan. 31 based on balloting from the league's head coaches. The Diamond Gents secured the final first-place vote and finished with 51 total points and it is the highest predicted finish for Centenary since the Maroon and White were picked to win the title prior to the 2018 campaign. Schreiner was picked to finish sixth.
The 2024 SCAC Baseball Championship is scheduled for May 3-5 in Cleburne, Texas. Centenary has appeared in the SCAC Championship game five times in its history, winning it twice and finishing as runner-up in 2013, 2015, and 2018. The top four teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the 2024 SCAC Tournament.
See the complete Diamond Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/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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