Seguin, Texas - The Centenary softball team was swept in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Friday by the nationally-ranked Texas Lutheran Bulldogs, 8-0 in five innings in game one and 9-1 in six innings in game two at Ed Kruse Stadium – Morck Softball Field.
The Ladies (13-18, 8-6 SCAC) and Bulldogs (22-2, 13-1 SCAC) will wrap up the series on Saturday with the third and final game scheduled for Noon. TLU is ranked fourth in the country in this week's NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches' Poll. The Bulldogs have won 14 games in a row and improved to 9-0 at home this season.
Game one recap: Texas Lutheran 8 Centenary 0 (5 innings)
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the second, added two more in the third, and then put the game away with four more in the fifth to secure the run-rule victory.
TLU finished with seven hits, drew five walks, only struck out one time, left four on base, and did commit an error. Centenary managed just two hits, walked twice, struck out seven times, left four on base, and made two errors. The Bulldogs stole nine bases in 10 attempts.
Sophomore P Alexis Roach (Pineville, La.) started and took the loss to fall to 1-4 on the season as she allowed four runs, all earned, on four hits with three walks and one strikeout in two innings of work. She allowed one home run, hit a batter, and threw a wild pitch. She faced 13 batters and threw 57 pitches – 33 for strikes. Sophomore P Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) relieved Roach and worked the final 2.2 innings as she allowed four runs, all earned, and three hits with two BB and no K's. She faced 14 batters and threw 41 pitches (25 strikes).
Senior P Ashlyn Strother went the distance for the Bulldogs to remain unbeaten at 14-0 on the season. She allowed just a third-inning single to sophomore 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) and a double in the fourth to senior 1B Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) with two BB and seven K's. She faced 19 batters and threw 76 pitches – 52 for strikes. SS Linzee Leal and 2B Caelee Clark gave Strother early run support with RBI singles in the second.
Strother retired the first six batters she faced and then walked Dawson to lead off the third. Freshman LF Janae Bland (Livingston, Texas) sacrificed Dawson to second and sophomore SS Brooke Sandefur (Denham Springs, La.) popped out for the second out. Senior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) then walked and Stokes followed with a single to load the bases. Strother, though, escaped the jam when she struck out sophomore C Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) to end the inning. Cox drew one of the Ladies' two walks but finished 0-2 with two strikeouts. Sophomore 3B Morgan Dawson (Natchitoches, La.) had the other walk but finished 0-1.
Roach walked LF Harleigh Russell to lead off the third and DP Tatum Seith homered to make it 4-0 and chase Roach. Crow entered and got three outs and then worked a scoreless fourth. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and Serena Gonzalez delivered a pinch-hit, three-run double. Mia Landry, also pinch-hitting, doubled home Gonzalez to make it 8-0 and end the game.
Game one recap: Texas Lutheran 9 Centenary 1 (6 innings)
The Bulldogs recorded a run-rule win again to sweep the Ladies as they scored seven of their nine runs over the final three innings. Centenary actually took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third as Cox reached on an error by Jack.
Junior Emma Shepherd (Athens, La.) started and went the distance for the Ladies to fall to 2-2 as she allowed nine runs, six earned, and 10 hits in 5.2 innings with four BB and four K. She faced 31 batters, allowed one home run, and threw 124 pitches with 77 for strikes.
Sydney Ouellette started for the Bulldogs and also went the whole way as she allowed just one unearned run and no hits in her six innings of work with one BB and one K. She faced 21 batters and threw 75 pitches – 50 for strikes.
The Bulldogs finished with 10 hits, drew four walks, struck out four times, left five on base, committed two errors, and stole a whopping 15 bases. The Ladies were held hitless and walked once, struck out once, left two on base, and made three errors. Junior DP Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.) walked in the fourth for the Ladies.
Clark finished 4-4 for the Bulldogs with three runs scored, an RBI, and seven stolen bases after swiping two in game one. She entered the day leading the country in stolen bases with 52 and had only been caught twice and is now 61-63. Jack was 2-3 with a two-run homer, two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. CF Annie Kay was 2-2 with a walk, three runs scored, and five stolen bases. Seith was 0-3 but had the game-ending sac fly to score Kay in the sixth.
The Bulldogs pulled off a double steal to tie the game in the third as Kay stole second and Clark stole home. Kay stole third and scored on a throwing error by Thrasher to make it 2-1, and four runs crossed the plate in the fourth capped by Jack's homer to make it 6-1. The Bulldogs then scored three more in the sixth to seal the win.
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.
#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
