No. 6 Seed Ladies Set To Face No. 3 Seed Trinity In SCAC Championship Opener
The Centenary softball team will make its sixth-consecutive appearance in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship this weekend as the sixth-seeded Ladies will face No. 3 seed Trinity on Friday in a first-round contest at approximately 1:30 p.m. at the University of Dallas Softball Facility.
Irving, Texas- The Centenary softball team will make its sixth-consecutive appearance in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship this weekend as the sixth-seeded Ladies will face No. 3 seed Trinity on Friday in a first-round contest at approximately 1:30 p.m. at the University of Dallas Softball Facility.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/udallas/
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/udallas/
The Ladies (14-19, 7-14 SCAC) and Tigers (18-22, 13-8 SCAC) will meet for the fourth time this season after Trinity opened conference play with a series sweep over the Ladies in Shreveport March 4-5. Centenary finished the regular season last weekend by dropping two of three games at St. Thomas while Trinity was swept at Texas Lutheran.
The Ladies advanced to the championship round of the 2021 SCAC Tournament, doing so for the first time in program history in the division III era before falling 2-1 to perennial conference power Texas Lutheran 2-1 in Kerrville, Texas.
TLU is the top seed this weekend after going unbeaten (21-0) in conference play during the regular season and posting a 35-4 overall record. St. Thomas earned the No. 2 seed as the Celts are 22-13 overall and 14-7 in SCAC play. Schreiner (15-25, 12-9 SCAC) is the No. 4 seed and Southwestern (14-24, 9-12) is the No. 5 seed.
Sophomore RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) headlines the offense as the speedster followed up her superb rookie season with a sensational sophomore campaign as she ranked in the top five in the conference during the regular season in batting average (.398), hits (43), runs (33), triples (2), and on-base percentage (.463). She is tied for seventh in the country in stolen bases (32) and has only been caught twice.
Cox became the program leader in stolen bases in a season and in a career in the division III era (2012-present) earlier this month and now has an impressive 53 in 59 career attempts. She slugged .472 this season and had 12 RBI, four doubles, and drew 12 walks in 108 at-bats while only striking out 15 times. She recorded 14 multi-hit games and had eight games with at least two stolen bases.
Junior SS/LF Kaylea Patridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) turned in another stellar season as one of the most versatile all-around players in the conference. She played in all 33 of the Ladies' games as she split her time between left field and shortstop. She hit .348, second-best on the team, with 39 hits, 11 RBI, and 21 runs scored. She had an on-base percentage of .411 and slugged .464. Patridge had 10 extra-base hits (seven doubles and three triples) and stole eight bases while only being caught once. She led the team in at-bats and triples and recorded 10 multi-hit games including a trio of three-hit games and a career-best four hits on March 12 at home versus Austin College. She ranked in the top 10 in the league in batting average, hits, runs scored, triples, and at-bats.
Senior C Erin Lewis (Leesville, La.) had another fantastic season for the Ladies as she .308, fourth-best on the team, with a team-leading three home runs and 21 RBI which ranked second on the squad. She led the team with 12 doubles and ranked fourth with 33 hits. Played in all 33 games in the regular season and in 107 at-bats she drew 10 walks (second-most on team) while only striking out 14 times. She posted an on-base percentage of .373 and slugged a team-best .505. She recorded seven multi-hit games, scored 15 runs and stole two bases. She was named the SCAC Hitter of the Week on Feb. 21 after a stellar performance over four games in the 2022 Warrior Spring Fling hosted by Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. She batted .461 (6-for-13) with two homers, two doubles, six RBI, and had 14 total bases. Lewis walked three times and did not strike out at all and delivered a walk-off home run to give the Ladies a 4-3 win over Westminster (Mo.) on Feb. 19. She ranked in the top 10 in the league in doubles, home runs, and slugging percentage.
Freshman 3B Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.) was one of the top rookies in the conference this season as she hit .340 with a .407 OBP and slugged 425. She played in all 33 of the Ladies' games and finished with 36 hits (third on team), 15 runs and led the team with 22 RBI. She struck out only 16 times in 106 at-bats while drawing 12 walks. She hit one home run and had six doubles. She ranked in the top 10 in the league in both RBI and OBP. She recorded 11 multi-hit games and had six games with two or more RBI.
Junior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) had another solid season for the Ladies as she started all 33 games and hit .274 with an OBP of .349 and slugged .337. She had 26 hits, 13 runs scored, 13 RBI, and three stolen bases. She had four doubles and one triple, which was a clutch hit in the Ladies' 2-0 victory over Schreiner on Senior Day.
Freshman Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) turned in an impressive rookie campaign as she went 7-9 with a 3.47 ERA and a team-best six complete games as one of the Ladies' top pitchers. She won her final five decisions of the season and six of her last seven. She made 19 total appearances with 13 starts and finished with a team-leading 84.2 innings pitched. Scarbrock was named SCAC Pitcher of the Week on April 20 after she picked up two wins in a series at home versus Schreiner April 15-16. She pitched one complete game and did not allow an earned run in 10.1 innings of work as the Ladies took two of three games in the series. She tossed a four-hit complete game in game two of a doubleheader, allowing just one unearned run and no walks with four strikeouts. She then came on in relief the next day and pitched the final three innings, allowing just three hits while striking out one, as she faced 11 batters and threw 40 pitches (28 strikes) to lead Centenary to a 2-0 win on Senior Day.
Freshman Katelyn Moss (Olive Branch, Miss.) made her mark as one of the league's top rookie pitchers this season as she finished 46 with an impressive 3.06 ERA and tossed four complete games. She made a team-high 20 appearances, started 13 games, and had one save. She struck out 31 batters in 82.1 innings pitched and finished the regular season on a high note as she pitched 9.2 total innings this past weekend in two games at St. Thomas, one start and one relief appearance. She allowed just two earned runs and seven hits, faced 39 batters and threw 135 pitches (87 strikes) with just one walk.
The winner will meet No. 2 seed St. Thomas at 6:30 p.m. on Friday while the loser will play at 10 a.m. on Saturday in an elimination game.
For complete coverage of this year's 2022 SCAC Softball Tournament, click to the official website
See the Ladies' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/sball/2021-22/schedule
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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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