Shreveport – The Centenary softball team swept a doubleheader over the Austin College 'Roos on Sunday afternoon in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play to complete a three-game series sweep and extended its season-high winning streak to seven games at the Centenary Softball Complex.
The Ladies (14-19, 9-6 SCAC) took game one 18-2 in five innings and won game two, 3-1 after winning the series opener on Friday night, 7-2. Austin College dropped to 7-23 overall and 3-12 in league play with Sunday's losses. The 18 runs scored in game one of Sunday's DH also marks the most runs in the Ladies have ever scored in a conference game in the division III era (2012-present).
The Ladies now lead the all-time series with the 'Roos, 21-11 and have won 16 of 21 meetings between the two in Shreveport. Centenary is riding its longest winning streak since it strung together eight wins in a row from March 16-24, 2019. The Ladies swept Dallas and Austin College in consecutive conference series' and just accomplished the same feat after sweeping Dallas in Irving last weekend. Centenary has won its most conference games in the regular season since winning 12 in that 2019 season when the Maroon and White went 12-10.
Game one recap: Centenary 18 Austin College 2 (5 innings)
The Ladies erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back as they cruised to the blowout win. Centenary scored twice in the second and four times in both the third and fourth innings to record the run-rule victory. The Maroon and White finished with 15 hits and stole seven bases, marking the second time this season that they swiped seven bags in a game. The seven steals are also tied for the second-most in a single game in the D3 era (2012-present) in program history.
Freshman Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) started for the Ladies and picked up the complete-game win as she allowed just two unearned runs and five hits in her five innings of work. She walked two and struck out two, facing 25 batters and hitting one to improve to 3-2 on the season and recorded her first-career complete game.
Allie Jeter (3-7) started for the 'Roos and was charged with 10 runs, but only three earned, and five hits in a 1.1 innings of work. She walked three, hit a batter, and did not record a strikeout. Her defense committed two costly errors behind her in the first inning and she gave way to Calleigh King with one out in the second. King went 2.1 innings and was roughed up for eight runs, all earned, on 10 hits with a walk, two K's, and a home run allowed.
Crow ran into trouble in the top of the first after allowing a leadoff single and a pair of walks, but after a visit to the mound by head coach Whitney Patterson, she settled down and got a strikeout and retired DP Lyndsey Busch on a slick defensive play by sophomore SS Brooke Sandefur (Denham Springs, La.) as she quickly fielded the hard-hit ball and threw to sophomore 3B Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.) for the third out to strand the bases loaded.
The Centenary offense then went to work. Junior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) reached on an error to start the inning and stole second. Freshman 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) flew out and Cox went to third. Senior LF Kaylea Patridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) was hit by a pitch and then the Ladies successfully pulled off a double steal as Cox raced home and Patridge went to second and then third on an error by C Kaitlyn Barrett.
Rivero walked and stole second junior 1B Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) delivered an RBI single to score Patridge and move Rivero to third. Freshman C Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) grounded out for the first out but sophomore DP Kaitlyn Dickey (Church Point, La.) singled up the middle to score Rivero and make it 3-0. Dickey moved to second on a wild pitch and senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) drew a walk to load the bases. Sandefur then walked to force in a run which brought the Ladies back to the top of the order to Cox after batting around.
Cox reached on an error for the second time in the inning that allowed Dickey and Stout to score and then Cox stole second and on the wild pitch, Sandefur scampered home to make it 7-0. Stokes singled through the left side to bring Cox home for the 8-0 lead. Patridge grounded out to end the inning but not after eight runs, three hits, three errors, five stolen bases, two walks, a hit by pitch, and a wild pitch.
Thrasher's RBI double and an RBI groundout by Stout in the second made it 10-0 and Thrasher came through again an inning later with a two-run double to highlight a four-run third. Sophomore 3B Alyssa Akers (Maurice, La.) belted a three-run homer in the fifth to make it a 17-0 game, her first long ball of the season and second of her career. Thrasher smashed her third double of the game two batters later to drive in a run and cap the scoring. She tied the D3-program record for doubles in a game, accomplished by just four others in 12 years.
The 'Roos managed just five hits while committing three errors and leaving eight on base. They walked twice, stole two bases, and struck out twice. Centenary committed one error, drew five walks, struck out twice, left five on base, and had five extra-base hits. Cox stole a season-high four of the Ladies' seven bases and recorded her fourth game this season with multiple SB's.
Dominguez, Thrasher, and Dickey each posted three-hit games, Akers had three RBI, Thrasher had four RBI and a stolen base, and Cox, Patridge, and Dominguez each scored three runs. Stokes was 1-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk, Patridge had two hits and a stolen base, and Sandefur finished 1-2 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk.
Game two recap: Centenary 3 Austin College 1
The game was scoreless until Austin College pushed across a run in the top of the third as CF Carrie Johnson drove in Elizabeth Preston with a two-out single for a 1-0 lead. The Ladies, though, answered with two runs in the bottom half on consecutive RBI doubles by Rivero and Dickey to take a 2-1 lead.
Two scoreless innings followed until freshman DP Abigail Hodgson (Georgetown, Texas) came through with a clutch RBI single to right center which scored Stout all of the way from first for a 3-1 lead. Freshman P Alexis Roach (Pineville, La.) pitched a complete game to pick up the win and move to 4-3. She allowed just one earned run and five hits in her seven innings of work. She walked one and struck out four and recorded her fourth complete game of the season. Roach faced 27 batters with one HBP and threw 82 pitches – 57 for strikes.
AD Smith (2-9) started and also went the distance for the 'Roos and suffered the loss. She allowed three runs, all earned, and seven hits in her six innings of work with a walk and three K's. She faced 27 batters, hit one, and threw 88 pitches (61 strikes).
Patridge went 2-2 with a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base and Cox was 1-3 with another stolen base, giving her five for the day and 23 this season in 24 attempts. Patridge, Rivero, and Dickey each had doubles as the Ladies finished with seven doubles on Sunday in the two games combined and their four in game one marks a single-game season high and is tied for sixth all-time in a game in the D3 era.
The Ladies have now thrown four-consecutive complete games as they did so in all three games this weekend coupled with a CG by sophomore P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) in their 6-5 win at Dallas in 11 innings on April 8. Scarbrock was the winning pitcher in the series opener on Friday over the 'Roos as she pitched her team-high ninth complete game of the season, holding Austin to just three hits and two runs, one earned, with two walks and six strikeouts in her seven innings of work.
The Ladies now hit the road for a critical series in conference play next weekend against the Schreiner University Mountaineers in Kerrville, Texas. Schreiner was swept at Southwestern this weekend and stands at 14-18 overall and 7-8 in the SCAC and two games behind the Ladies.
Centenary, 5-4 on the road this season, is now tied with Southwestern for third in the conference standings. The Ladies and Pirates will meet in Shreveport in the final conference series of the season, April 29-30. The Ladies were picked to finish sixth this season in the preseason poll with Southwestern (4) and Schreiner (5) predicted to finish just ahead of them.
The 2023 SCAC Softball Championship is set for May 5-7 in San Antonio with Trinity serving as the host. The top six teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the event.
See the Ladies' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/sball/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests and Live stats and live video stream are available for all home contests as well. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change.
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