Shreveport - The Centenary Ladies softball team will face the St. Thomas Celts in a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series beginning Saturday with a doubleheader set for Noon and 2 p.m. at the Centenary Softball Complex.
The teams will wrap things up on Sunday with a single game set for Noon. Live video will be available for all three games of the series at the following link: https://collegetvticket.com/portal/centenary
The Ladies (9-8) will be playing at home for just the second time all season after sweeping a DH over Austin College back on March 6. Centenary split a non-conference doubleheader against Hardin Simmons on Saturday in Abilene, Texas, taking game two, 3-1 as the Maroon and White wrapped up play in the Hardin Simmons University/McMurry University Spring Break Tournament on a high note after going 2-4 in the event.
Centenary lost a pair of games in the tournament, 5-1 to McMurry, and 4-1 to Concordia (TX) on day one and then earned a split the next day, defeating McMurry 5-3 in eight innings and falling to Howard Payne by a score of 9-0.
St. Thomas enters this weekend's action at 7-7 overall and also won a pair of games in the same tournament last weekend but the Celts and Ladies did not play each other.
Freshman Cambry Bates (Readhimer, La.) belted her first-career home run, a go-ahead three-run shot, in the top of the sixth to propel the Ladies to a comeback win in game two of the doubleheader. Game two was scoreless until the fifth inning and then Hardin Simmons scored a run in the bottom half to take a 1-0 lead. Bates came through with the clutch homer then the Ladies' pitching staff shut the door the next two innings to earn the win.
Freshman Hailee Leger (Belle Chasse, La.) picked up the win in the circle to improved her record to 4-4. She allowed just one unearned run and four hits in five innings of work with no walks and four strikeouts. Leger, one of the top freshman in the country to this point in the season, leads the conference in wins (4), ERA (1.39), strikeouts (43), saves (3), and innings pitched (55.1).
Leger leads the nation in strikeout to walk ratio (43-1) and ranks 14th in strikeouts. She walked one batter last weekend, her lone walk of the season, after not allowing one in her first 44 innings pitched this season. She is also second in the SCAC in opponent batting average. Juniors Ashley Hunter (Benton, La.) and Kirstyn Gomez (Deer Park, Texas) have teamed with Leger to form one of the conference's best pitching staffs. Hunter is 3-2 this season with a 3.66 ERA, a save, and a complete game, and Gomez is 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA. Both Hunter and Gomez are tied for fourth in the conference in strikeouts, rank in the top 10 in the conference in ERA, and top seven in opponent batting average.
Centenary ranks 52nd in the country in team ERA at 2.60 as the Ladies' pitching staff has allowed just 42 earned runs in 113.0 innings pitched. The Ladies are also 25th in the country in strikeout to walk ratio and 33rd in WHIP.
Freshman right fielder Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) collected three more hits last Saturday after four on Friday and is having a fantastic rookie season. She now has four multi-hit games this season and leads the team in batting average (.326) and hits with 15. Cox ranks in a tie for eighth in the SCAC in on-base percentage and is tied for fifth in walks and is fifth in stolen bases.
The Ladies are tied for sixth in the country in stolen bases (34) as four players have stolen at least four bags so far, led by nine from sophomore Kaylea Patridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) as she ranks second in the conference and has only been caught three times. Fellow sophomore Britlyn Garrett (Stonewall. La.) is tied for third in the league in stolen bases with seven.
Senior Erin Lewis (Leesville, La.) is tied for third in the league in home runs with two, junior infielder Jaymee Wilkinson (Brazoria, Texas) is tied for second in the conference and leads the team in doubles with five. Freshman Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) leads the league in sacrifice bunts with five while Patridge and Wilkinson are tied for second with three.
A link to the Ladies' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/sball/2020-21/schedule
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