Jackson, Miss. – The Centenary softball team opened its 2022 regular season with a non-conference doubleheader split on Saturday against the Millsaps College Majors at the Millsaps Softball Complex.
The Ladies (1-1) took game one by a score of 3-2 and then fell 8-6 in the second game against the Majors (1-1). Centenary collected eight hits in each game of the day and senior C Erin Lewis (Leesville, La.) had a big day as she went 4-6 at the plate with a homer, two doubles, two RBI, four runs scored, and a walk.
Game 1 Recap:
Senior P Ashley Hunter (Benton, La.) started the opener for the Ladies and picked up the win as she went four innings and allowed just an earned run and six hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Hunter (1-0) faced 20 batters and threw 78 pitches, 45 for strikes. Freshman P Katelyn Moss (Olive Branch, Miss.) made her collegiate debut and earned the save as she pitched the final three innings in relief of Hunter and allowed just three hits and one earned run with a pair of walks and two K's. Moss faced 15 batters and threw 54 total pitches with 31 strikes and hit a batter.
Cassidy Thrash (0-1) took the loss for the Majors as she started and went just 2.2 innings allowing four hits and two runs (one earned) with a walk and three K's. Trash threw 44 pitches (31 strikes) and faced 13 batters. Hannah Derouen relieved her and went the final 4.1 innings and allowed one earned run on four hits with a walk and two K's. She faced 17 batters and threw 59 pitches with 38 for strikes.
Sophomore right fielder Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) matched her teammate Lewis with two hits in the game as she finished 2-4 and stole two bases from the leadoff spot. Cox, a First Team All-SCAC selection last season as a freshman, recorded the 12th multi-hit game of her young career. Lewis was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Senior 2B Jaymee Wilkinson (Brazoria, Texas) was 0-3 but put the Ladies on top early as she delivered a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning. Junior LF Kaylea Patridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) was 1-4 with a run scored, junior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) went 1-3 with an RBI double, freshman DH Viviana Rivero (Redondo beach, Calif.) was 1-3 in her collegiate debut, and freshman SS Brooke Sandefur (Baton Rouge, La.) was 1-3 and scored a run in her debut.
Centenary drew a pair of walks, struck out five times, and left six on base while Millsaps struck out four times, walked five times, and left 12 on as Hunter and Moss worked out of trouble and held the Majors down. RF Kat Reeves led the Majors with a game-high three hits and stole one base and CF Molli Perry went 2-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. Four other Millsaps players collected one hit.
Wilkinson delivered a one-out SAC fly in the third and Lewis doubled home Patridge for a 2-0 Centenary lead, and then Hunter worked out of a jam in the bottom half to leave the bases loaded and preserve the lead. Hunter did the same the following inning as she got a fly out to leave the bases loaded again. Perry and Reeves got on base to begin the bottom of the fifth and Moss came on in relief of Hunter. 1B Brooklyn Wascom singled home Perry with one out to make it 2-1 but Moss got SS Savanah Stafford to ground into a fielder's choice and got the second out at home and then retired C Magen Authement on a ground out for the final out of the inning.
Lewis doubled with one out in the top of the sixth and Stout came through with a clutch two-out double of her own to score Lewis to add to the Ladies' lead. The Majors were set down easily in the bottom half and Cox was stranded in scoring position after a bunt single and stolen base in the top of the seventh as the Ladies took their 3-1 lead to the bottom of the seventh.
Reeves reached on a bunt single against Moss to start the inning and 3B Emily Cook reached on an infield single to put the pressure on Centenary. Moss, though, was not fazed as she got Wascom on a pop up for the first out and LF Katie Norris went down on strikes for out number two. Moss, though, walked the next batter and then hit Authement with a pitch to bring in the second run and make it a 3-2 game with the bases still loaded. 2B Katelyn Norse then popped out to first to secure the dramatic win for the Ladies.
Game 2 Recap:
The Ladies wasted no time in taking the lead in the second game of the DH as they put three runs on the board in the top of the first. Rivero, playing RF, produced a one-out RBI single, freshman 1B Kaitlyn Dickey (Church Point, La.) drew a bases-loaded walk, and freshman 3B Maggie Jenkins (La Mesa, Calif.) picked up an RBI on a groundout.
The Majors got one run back in the bottom half as Reeves scored an unearned run on an error by Wilkinson but left the bases loaded. Millsaps then added a second run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Cook, but the Ladies extended their lead in the top of the third with two runs. Jenkins scored on a passed ball and freshman DH Alyssa Akers (Maurice, La.) grounded out to bring home a run for a 5-2 lead.
The Majors scored once in the third and added a pair in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game and then went ahead 6-5 in the fifth on a home run by Norse. Millsaps added two runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on for the 8-6 win. Lewis belted a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh to start a rally but Trash, the game one loser for the Majors, got Akers to go down swinging with the tying runs at second and third.
The Ladies finished game two with eight hits and drew six walks but struck out nine times and left nine on base. The Majors had 15 hits and did not strike out all game but did leave 10 on base and 22 for the day. Lewis and Rivero combined to go 4-7 with two RBI and four runs scored. Lewis scored three runs herself and walked once. Cox went 1-4 with another stolen base, Patridge was 1-4 with a run scored, and Dickey and Stout combined to go 2-6 with two walks and an RBI. Jenkins walked twice along with her RBI.
Norse led the Majors with four hits, Cook had three, and Norris and SS Alli Nolen each had two. Nolen and Norse each drove in two runs and four other Majors collected one hit. Norse' homer was one of three extra-base hits in the game for Millsaps as Norris tripled and Nolen had a double.
Freshman P Anna Scarbock (Alexandria, La.) started for the Ladies and suffered the loss as she was touched for eight runs (five earned) and 15 hits in 5.2 innings. Scarbock (0-1) walked just one and did not record a strikeout. She faced 36 batters and threw 96 pitches, 69 for strikes. Moss came on in relief and got the final out of the sixth inning. Hayleigh Rogers started for the Majors and pitched two innings, allowing four runs (one earned) and four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. She faced 13 batters and threw 42 pitches with 24 for strikes.
Derouen, the Majors' third pitcher of the game, picked up the win in relief as she pitched 4.1 innings and was sharp as she struck out six with a pair of walks. Derouen (1-0) allowed one earned run and three hits as she threw 70 pitches (42 strikes) and faced 18 batters.
Next up for the Ladies is the Hendrix College Spring Fling Tournament Feb. 19-20 in Conway, Ark. Centenary will play the host Warriors and Westminster (Mo.) twice each.
The Ladies will open their home schedule on Tuesday, March 1 for a DH versus Arlington Baptist University at the Centenary Softball Complex. The teams will then take a day off and face off again for another DH on March 3. Games are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m. both days.
See the Ladies' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/sball/2021-22/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests but be advised of current COVID-19 protocols for fans. Updated COVID-19 information is now available via www.GoCentenary.com.
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