CHAMPIONS! Baseball Wins SCAC Championship
CHAMPIONS! The No. 2 seed Centenary baseball team defeated the No. 4 seed Texas Lutheran Bulldogs by a score of 9-5 on Monday afternoon to win the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship at La Moderna Field.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Texas Lutheran
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 2 |
|
Centenary (La.)
|
0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | X | 9 | 12 | 1 |
CLEBURNE, Texas - CHAMPIONS! The No. 2 seed Centenary baseball team defeated the No. 4 seed Texas Lutheran Bulldogs by a score of 9-5 on Monday afternoon to win the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship at La Moderna Field.
The Diamond Gents (23-18) completed their memorable run through the loser's bracket by winning three-straight elimination games over three days to win their second tournament title in three years after claiming the title in 2022. Texas Lutheran finishes its season at 25-17. Centenary outlasted TLU 10-8 in 11 innings on Sunday to force Monday's decisive winner-take-all game.
Centenary has enjoyed incredible success in the event, winning previous titles in 2022 and in 2017 and has finished as runner-up three times (2013, 2015, 2018). The Diamond Gents opened the weekend with a 6-4 victory on Friday over Southwestern University, then fell 5-2 to TLU on Saturday. Centenary then responded with a 7-6 win over No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Trinity University that eliminated the Tigers that led to the consecutive wins over the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead after two innings but the Diamond Gents responded with three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-1 lead. TLU scored one in the top of the fourth but Centenary scored one of its own in the bottom half of the fifth to lead 4-2. A four-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth stretched Centenary's lead to 8-2 and the Maroon and White scored its final run of the game in the bottom of the seventh to take a comfortable 9-2 lead.
TLU, though, did not go away without a fight as the Bulldogs scored once in the eighth and twice in the ninth and left two on base before the final out was recorded and the celebration was on. Centenary finished with 12 hits, one walk, just two strikeouts, made one error, stole four bases, and left three on base. TLU had 13 hits, walked once, struck out five times, made two errors, stole one base, and left 11 costly runners on base.
Sophomore LHP Cody Myers (Friendswood, Texas) started on the mound for Centenary and went four innings in his third appearance of the weekend and received a no-decision. He allowed eight hits but just two runs, one earned, and a walk with one strikeout. He faced 22 batters, hitting one, and threw 79 pitches – 49 for strikes.
Sophomore RHP Aidan Reichek (Bellaire, Texas) came in to relieve Myers and was solid as he picked up the win to improve to 3-2. He allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits with no BB and four K's. He allowed a home run and hit one of the 21 batters he faced and threw 71 pitches (48 strikes). Reicheck, the 2023 SCAC Freshman of the Year and named Honorable-Mention All-SCAC, delivered a clutch bullpen performance when the Maroon and White needed him the most in his second-career outing in Cleburne.
TLU starter Diego Vinton (3-6) took the loss as he allowed four runs, all earned, on six hits in his five innings of work with no BB and no K. He faced 20 batters, threw one wild pitch, and finished with 70 pitches – 51 for strikes. Brendan Beard relieved him and worked the final three innings. He allowed five runs, three earned, and six hits in three innings with a BB and a pair of K's and allowed a home run. He threw 51 pitches (40 strikes).
Sophomore LF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) finished 3-4 with a solo home run, two RBI, a stolen base, and three runs scored at the top of the order to lead the Centenary offense. Sophomore CF Collin Pitts (Lufkin, Texas) was 2-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base and freshman DH Walker Wicklund (Shreveport, La.) went 2-3 with three RBI, a walk, and a stolen base.
Senior SS Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.) was 1-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base, and freshman 1B Alex Miller (Cypress, Texas) and senior RF Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.) each went 1-4 with a run scored. Senior C Jake Gonce (Katy, Texas) finished 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored and freshman 2B Braeden Morse (Pearland, Texas) was 1-4 with a run scored.
Five TLU players collected two or more hits and the first four batters in the lineup combined to finish 9-19 with three RBI and two runs scored. Adam Peavy was 3-4 with a stolen base and Xavier Arias finished 2-5 with a ninth-inning two-run homer and scored a run. 2B Aric Vasquez was 2-5 with a double and an RBI, CF Hayden Kesselring went 2-5 with a double, and RF Carson Draehn was 1-5 with two runs scored. SS Chase Bourgeois and 1B Tyler Post were a combined 3-9 with two RBI and a run scored.
Bourgeois singled home Draehn in the second for a 1-0 TLU lead and Livesay's infield single scored Gonce to tie the game in the third. Wicklund delivered a two-run single to score Livesay and Morse for a 3-1 Centenary lead later in the inning. An RBI single by Vasquez in the fourth cut the TLU deficit to 3-2. Wicklund's RBI double in the fifth scored Livesay to make it 4-2 Centenary and then the big sixth inning happened that helped the Diamond Gents inch closer to a title.
Beard came in for Vinton and Miller greeted him with an infield single. Benoit then singled to move Miller to second. Boone ripped a single to center to score Miller as Benoit raced to third. Boone then stole second but Beard got freshman 3B Gage Morris (Livingston, Texas) on a strikeout for the first out. Pitts' infield single scored Benoit and Boone moved to third as the Diamond Gents took a 6-2 lead. Boone then scored on an error by Beard as he tried to pick him off. Pitts then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by C Chance Greene and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Gonce for an 8-2 lead. Livesay's leadoff homer in the seventh made it 9-2.
Bourgeois had an RBI groundout in the eighth and Arias' two-run homer scored Kesselring and made it 9-5 in the ninth with one out. Peavey then singled and Draehn reached on a fielder's choice as Peavy was forced at second base for the second out. Post was hit by a pitch but Reichek got Bourgeois to groundout to Boone at short and he threw in time to Miller at first for the third out and the dog pile commenced at the pitchers' mound.
The selection show is set for Monday, May 13 at 11 a.m. central as Centenary will find out its opponents and destination. The tournament starts with 16 regionals at school sites with each winner playing a super-regional best of three series to determine the eight teams who will advance to the D-III World Series to be held at Classic Auto Group Park, Eastlake, Ohio. This suburb of Cleveland will be the seventh site to host the D-III World Series since the tournament started in 1976.
The playoff field consists of 60 teams. Forty-one (39) Pool A bids will be awarded to conference automatic qualifiers through May 15th. On May 16, the national selection committee decides who gets the two Pool B and 19 Pool C at-large bids.
Regional Sites: Friday-Sunday, May 17-19 (Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18 if there is a Sunday no-play) - 60 teams, 14 regionals with four teams (double elimination), two regionals with two teams (best of five series)
Super Regionals: Friday-Saturday, May 24-25 - 16 teams, eight super regionals with two teams (best of three series)
Finals: Friday-Thursday, May 31-June 6 (Eight Teams). Site-Hosted by: Classic Auto Group Park, Eastlake, Ohio; Co-hosted by the North Coast Athletic Conference and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
D-III World Series format: The D-III World Series format has two four-team double-elimination pools with the winner of each pool meeting in a best-of-three series. This year, the schedule adds a practice day between Pod play and the Championship Series.
See the complete Diamond Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/schedule
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