Longview, Texas – The Centenary softball team was swept in a non-conference doubleheader by the LeTourneau University YellowJackets on Tuesday evening, falling 5-0 in game one and 8-4 in game two at the LETU Softball Field.
The Ladies (7-12) return to Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend at Austin College for a three-game series in Sherman, Texas. The YellowJackets improved to 9-8 and snapped their two-game losing streak while upping their record at home to 4-5. LeTourneau has won four games in a row over Centenary after recording a DH sweep in Shreveport last season.
Game one recap: LeTourneau 5 Centenary 0
The Ladies were shutout for just the second time this season on seven hits. They played error-free baseball, walked twice, struck out five times, and left nine on base. The YellowJackets finished with eight hits, did not commit an error, walked once, struck out five times, and left three on base.
LeTourneau scored single runs in the first three innings and scored one more in the fifth and its final run in the sixth. Hailee Leger, who pitched for the Ladies in 2021, pitched a shutout to improve to 3-4 on the season. She allowed just seven hits in her seven innings of work with two walks and five K's as she faced 30 batters and threw 94 pitches – 63 for strikes. The Ladies left two on base in the fourth and seventh innings and left the bases loaded in the sixth as Leger was able to work out of jams and keep Centenary off the scoreboard.
Junior P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) went five innings and suffered the loss to fall to 4-5 as she allowed four runs, all earned, and seven hits with no BB and three K's. She allowed a home run, faced 22 batters, and threw 74 pitches (50 strikes). Junior Emma Shepherd (Athens, La.) pitched an inning and allowed one earned run on one hit with a BB and a pair of K's. She faced four batters and threw 19 pitches – 9 strikes.
SS Kylie Grisham started the scoring for the YellowJackets with an RBI single in the first that scored CF Maddie Flanery for a 1-0 lead. 2B Mickenzie Murry had an RBI single in the second, and 3B Maddi Smith homered in the third to make it 3-0. Flanery had an RBI groundout in the fifth and Murry scored a run in the sixth when Corinne Van Cleef was caught stealing to make it 5-0.
Murry finished 2-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and three stolen bases while Flanery was 1-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Grisham was 1-3 with an RBI and a stolen base, and Smith was 1-3 with her solo home run.
Senior 1B Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) was 2-2 for the Ladies with a walk, senior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) finished 1-4, sophomore DP Abigail Hodgson (Georgetown, Texas) went 1-2 with a double, and sophomore SS Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) was 1-3 with a walk. Sophomore C Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) finished 1-4 and freshman UT Janae Bland (Livingston, Texas) went 1-3.
Game one recap: LeTourneau 8 Centenary 4
The YellowJackets jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings but the Ladies responded with four-straight runs over the fourth and fifth innings to close their deficit to 6-4. But, LeTourneau scored a pair in the bottom of the fifth to take an 8-4 lead and held off the Ladies over the final two innings to secure the win and complete the doubleheader sweep.
The Ladies finished with eight hits, walked once, struck out eight times, left six on base, and made two errors. The YellowJackets had 10 hits, walked once, did not strike out, left three on base, and made one error.
Sophomore RHP Riley Myers (Shreveport, La.) started in the circle for the Ladies and suffered the loss to fall to 2-2. She lasted just two innings and allowed six runs, three earned, and seven hits with no walks and no strikeouts. She faced 13 batters and threw 50 pitches (31 strikes). Shepherd came on in relief just as she did in game one, and worked the final four innings and allowed two runs, both earned, and three hits with a walk and no K's. She faced 17 batters, hitting one, and threw 72 pitches – 44 for strikes.
Laney Taylor (4-1) started for LeTourneau and went the distance as she allowed four runs, all earned, and eight hits in her seven innings with a walk and eight K's. She allowed one home run and faced 31 batters, throwing 101 pitches (73 strikes).
Sophomore 3B River Boultinghouse (Saint Gabriel, La.) was 2-3 with a season-high three RBI to lead the Ladies' offense. Thrasher was 1-4 with a solo home run, her first of the season and the Ladies' first of the season as well, and scored a run. Cox finished 1-3 with a stolen base, Stokes went 1-3 with a walk, Dominguez finished 103 with a run, senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) was 1-3 with a run scored and sophomore 2B Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) was also 1-3 with a run scored.
Taylor, in addition to tossing her complete game, also went 3-3 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored, CF Jaci Taylor was 3-4 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base, and C Kenna Hendry was 1-3 with two RBI. Smith went 1-2 with two runs scored, LF Rylie Shipp was 0-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base, and 1B Payton Bauer was 1-4. RF Alexa Neilon was 0-2 but had an RBI, scored a run, and stole a base and 2B Leighton Landreth was 1-2 with a walk and a stolen base.
Hendry laid down a sacrifice bunt in the first to score Taylor, then the YellowJackets added three unearned runs in the second following an error by Crow for a 5-0 lead. Neilon had a sac fly in the third to make it 6-0 but Boultinghouse's double cleared the bases in the fourth to cut the Ladies' deficit in half and Thrasher went deep to make it 6-4. Taylor's two-run homer, though, made it 8-4 in the fifth.
Centenary and Austin College begin their Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series on Saturday with a single game followed by a DH on Sunday.
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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