Shreveport – The Centenary softball team opens Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday as the Ladies face the University of Dallas Crusaders in a doubleheader at Noon and 2 p.m. at the Centenary Softball Complex.
Live stats and live video are available for both games at the links below:
Stats: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/sball/2023-24/boxscores/20240316_nwqf.xml
Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/sTT8RjBJWYA?si=bPEnUfC5IHtveNqL
The Ladies (5-10) and Crusaders (3-10) were supposed to play at 3 and 5 p.m. but the start times were pushed up due to the potential of inclement weather. The third and final game of the series is tentatively scheduled for Noon on Sunday weather permitting.
The Ladies were picked to finish fifth in the league this season in the preseason poll, their highest predicted finish in five seasons since the 2020 Ladies' squad was picked to finish fourth in a season ultimately cut short due to COVID-19. Dallas was picked to finish ninth.
Centenary earned a 2-1 walk-off victory in extra innings on Sunday afternoon over the Millsaps College Majors to salvage the final game of a three-game series at home last weekend. The Ladies rebounded from a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Majors on Saturday, falling 5-2 in game one and 8-4 in game two. Centenary beat Millsaps for the first time this season after dropping a season-opening DH in Jackson, Miss. on Feb. 9.
The Ladies are hitting .292 as a team with a .359 on-base percentage and are slugging .332. They average 4.8 runs per game and have a team ERA of 4.19, which ranks fourth in the league. Centenary has collected 119 hits, 14 for extra bases, with 135 total bases which includes 38 walks and nine HBP. The Ladies have nine sacrifice flies and have stolen 33 bases. They rank fifth in the conference in team batting average and sixth in both OBP and slugging. The Ladies have collected 10+ hits in game seven times this season and done so in six of their last nine games.
Dallas ranks fourth in the league in team batting average (.311), fifth in OBP (.349), and third in slugging (.395). The Crusaders are fifth in the SCAC in team ERA at 4.36. Dallas will play on the road for the first time this season this weekend as its first 13 games have been played at home.
The Ladies recorded a series sweep over the Crusaders last season in Irving, Texas as they have now won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams and are 33-12 all-time against Dallas.
Senior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) is off to a hot start for the Ladies as she is the team leader in batting average (.489), OBP (.593), and slugging (.511) and ranks second in the conference in OBP and third in average. She has scored a team and conference-leading 23 runs and her 23 hits lead the team and put her in the top five in the league. She has also stolen 24 bases to lead the entire country in division III in the category and has only been caught twice. Cox has also walked a team-leading 12 times and is fourth in the conference. She has three RBI, a double, and has only struck out three times in 47 at-bats.
Sophomore C Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) is the Ladies' leader in RBI with 13 and is tied for third on the team in hits with 13. She is hitting .277 with a .275 OBP and is slugging .404. Her six doubles lead the team and are tied for fifth-most in the conference. Thrasher has scored five runs, stolen two bases, walked once, and only struck out four times in 47 at-bats.
Sophomore 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) has followed up her fantastic rookie season with a strong start this season as she is second on the team in both batting average (.333) and OBP (.385) and is third in slugging (.354). She also ranks second in hits (16) and runs (nine) and third in RBI with seven. She has a double, four walks, a stolen base, and only struck out three times in a team-high 48 at-bats.
Freshman UT Janae Bland (Livingston, Texas) and sophomore 3B Morgan Dawson (Natchitoches, La.) are also two of the Ladies' top offensive players entering conference play. Bland is hitting .324 (.359 OBP/.324 slugging) with 12 hits in 37 at-bats with six RBI, four runs scored, a walk, a stolen base, and only three strikeouts. Dawson is batting .295 with a .365 OBP and .318 slugging percentage. She has 13 hits, nine RBI, five runs scored, a double, four walks, and just six strikeouts in 44 at-bats. Senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) is tied for the conference and team-lead in HBP (three) and has nine hits, seven runs scored, four RBI, a stolen base, and struck out only once in 40 at-bats.
Junior Emma Shepherd (Athens, La.) owns the Ladies' lowest ERA at .286 and is 1-0in four appearances with one start. She has allowed just six earned runs and 14 hits in 14.2 innings pitched with 10 BB and 14 K. Junior P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) is the team leader in appearances (eight), innings pitched (36.0), and starts (six). She also leads the Ladies in wins as she is 3-4 with a 3.11 ERA (second on team) with Centenary's lone complete game and 13 K's against just four BB.
Centenary is 3-6 at home this season and the series against Dallas is the first of three conference series' for the Ladies on their home field this season as they will face Schreiner University March 29-30 and Trinity University April 27-28.
See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://centenary.prestosports.com/sports/sball/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.
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