Shreveport – The Centenary softball program team dropped a non-conference doubleheader to the Texas A&M-Texarkana Eagles on Sunday, 4-2 in game one and 10-5 in nine innings in game two as the Ladies opened their season at the Centenary Softball Complex.

The Ladies (0-2) and Eagles (2-0) were supposed to play the DH on Saturday, but weather pushed the games back a day. The teams were meeting for the first time since the 2019 season when the Eagles swept a DH in Texarkana.

Game one recap: Eagles 4 Ladies 2

The Eagles got on the board in the top of the first with one run and the Ladies answered with a typing run in the bottom half of the inning. A&M-Texarkana then scored one in the top of the third and a single run in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. The Ladies made it 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Eagles responded with a run in the top of the seventh for a 4-2 lead and the eventual final.

A&M-Texarkana pounded out 13 hits, only struck out twice, and did not commit an error. Centenary finished with six hits, struck out four times, and committed one error. The Ladies left seven on base and drew one walk. The Eagles did not have a walk all game and left 10 on base.

Sophomore P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) suffered the loss in the circle for the Ladies as she went the distance and allowed four runs, all earned, and 13 hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Anna Westberry picked up the win for the Eagles as she went six innings and allowed just two runs, both earned, and five hits with a walk and four K's and hit to batters. Stephanie Chico relieved her and pitched the seventh, allowing just one hit to record the save.

Senior LF Kaylea Patridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) and junior 1B Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) each had two hits to lead the Ladies' offense, Dominguez had one RBI, and junior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) went 1-3 with an RBI triple. Sophomore 3B Alyssa Akers (Maurice, La.) was 1-4.

Four A&M-Texarkana had multi-hit games, led by a 3-4 effort from 3B Patti Swimley. The first five hitters in the Eagles' lineup combined to go 10-15 with three RBI and four runs scored. CF Katie Slamer finished 2-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored, Swimley had a double, and DP Grace Cantu had a triple, an RBI groundout, and a sacrifice fly.

Cantu's RBI groundout gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and following a leadoff walk by Patridge in the bottom half, Cox drover her home with a game-tying RBI triple to the gap in left center. Cantu's sac fly scored Slamer for a 2-1 lead in the third and an RBI single by 1B Baylee Stautzenberger made it a 3-1 game in the fifth.

Dominguez drove in senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) with an RBI single in the sixth to cut the deficit to 3-2, but C Sarah Velasquez came through with an RBI single to score Cantu in the seventh for a 4-2 lead.

Game two recap: Eagles 10 Ladies 5

The Eagles jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in their first at-bat, but the Ladies responded with single runs in the first and second to make it a 3-2 game after two. A&M-Texarkana then scored one in the third and another in the fifth for a 5-2 lead. The Ladies, though, rallied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 5-5. Following two scoreless innings, the Eagles erupted for five in the top of the ninth to seal the win.

The Ladies pounded out 12 hits, including three extra-base hits, and stole three bases. The Eagles finished with 13 hits, with two extra-base hits, and drew four walks and stole three bases. Centenary made three errors, A&M-Texarkana committed two, and the teams combined to leave 19 on base – 10 by the Ladies and nine by the Eagles.

Cox had an impressive game for the Ladies with three hits and two RBI and stole a base. Stout went 2-4 with two runs scored, sophomore SS Brooke Sandefur (Baton Rouge, La.) was 1-3 with two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Freshman 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) went 2-4 with a double and a run scored, and Akers and sophomore C Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.) each went 1-5. Freshman 3B Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) went 1-4 with a double in her Ladies' debut.

Freshman Alexis Roach (Pineville, La.) made her first collegiate start in the circle for the Ladies and went the first four innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Roach faced 20 batters and threw 68 pitches, 39 for strikes. Freshman Abigail Hodgson (Georgetown, Texas) relieved Roach and suffered the loss as she went four innings and allowed two runs, both earned, and six hits with a K. She faced 17 batters, hitting one, and threw 66 pitches (45 strikes). Freshman Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) was the third and final pitcher for the Ladies as she went an inning and allowed four runs (one earned) and two hits with one walk. She faced nine batters, hitting two, and threw 21 pitched with 13 strikes.

Mackenzie Vittitow started and went six innings as she allowed five runs, four earned, and 10 hits with no walks and no K's. She faced 30 batters, hitting one, and threw 72 pitches – 55 for strikes. Chico relieved her and got the victory as she pitched the final three innings, blanking the Ladies on two hits with no walks and no K's. She faced 12 batters and threw 46 pitches (38 strikes) to finish the day with a save in game one and the win in game two.

The top of the Eagles' lineup was again clicking as it as in game one, as the first six batters combined to go 11-27 with five RBI, nine runs scored, and three walks. LF Macey Cutsin was 1-5 with two runs scored, a walk, and two stolen bases. Cantu was 3-4 with two RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. Slamer was 2-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base, and Stautzenberger finished 2-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk, and a triple. SS Macie Reeves was 2-5 with two RBI, and Velasquez went 1-2 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored.

Down 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Sandefur delivered a clutch two-RBI double to score Stout and Stokes and cut the Eagles' lead to 5-4. Patridge then singled up the middle to put runners at the corners with only one out, and Patridge then stole second. Cox grounded out to plate Sandefur and tie the game, but Vittitow got Akers to fly out to end the inning as the score remained tied.

Centenary had the first two runners reach in the seventh but could not score and Cox was stranded at second base in the eighth. The Eagles finally broke through in the ninth with three runs and Chico retired the side in order in the bottom half to seal the win and DH sweep for the visitors.

The Ladies will play four games in the Hendrix College Spring Fling Tournament on Feb. 18-19 in Conway, Ark. as the Ladies will face the host Warriors as well as Westminster (Mo.).

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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