Shreveport - The Centenary baseball team got its 2023 regular season off to a hot start despite cold conditions on Friday afternoon as the Diamond Gents recorded an 11-1 run-rule victory in seven innings over the University of the Ozarks Eagles in game one of a non-conference doubleheader at a soggy Shehee Stadium.
Game two was suspended by rain in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Maroon and White leading 8-3 and is scheduled to resume at Noon on Saturday. A second doubleheader will begin following the resumption of game two – a seven-inning game followed by a nine-inning game.
Centenary (1-0) pounded out 13 hits and held the Eagles (0-1) to a single hit in game one to improve to 34-8 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season. The Diamond Gents entered the season ranked #36 in Collegiate Baseball's D-3 Preseason Poll and are receiving votes in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll.
The Diamond Gents are coming off one of their best seasons in program history as they captured the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship with a 10-5 victory over nationally-ranked Trinity University last May in Cleburne, Texas to earn their second NCAA Championship berth. The Diamond Gents were swept on the road by LaGrange College in their first NCAA appearance since 2017.
Centenary All-American sophomore LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas) picked up right where he left off following a phenomenal rookie season as he tossed a complete game one-hitter with just one walk and a career-high 10 strikeouts. Herrera (1-0) allowed a two-out single in the third and that was all as he yielded just one unearned run as he recorded his third-career complete game.
The Eagles used three pitchers with starter Josh Ropple (0-1) suffering the loss as he was tagged for seen runs, all earned, and 11 hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three. Jacob Squires relieved him and went 1.1 innings, allowing four runs (all earned) but just one hit with two walks, one strikeout, and hit one batter. Cason Brigham faced one batter, allowing a two-run single in the final inning.
The Diamond Gents got the scoring started with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second as freshman LF Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Texas) singled with one out and junior C Austyn Benoit (Welsh, La.) tripled to center to drive in Forth for a 1-0 lead. Freshman 3B Hayden Stringfellow (Boerne, Texas) followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Benoit for a 2-0 lead.
Senior CF Gary Hewitt (Cedar Park, Texas) tripled with one out in the third and freshman RF Carson Livesay (Lafayette, La.) doubled home Hewitt. Livesay then advanced to third on a balk and junior 2B Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.) made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly. Centenary added one run in the fourth as Benoit and Stringfellow hit consecutive doubles and back to back RBI singles in the fifth by Forth and Benoit made it 7-0.
Centenary put the finishing touches on its blowout win with four runs in the seventh. Boone drove in Livesay with an RBI single, Stringfellow had a two-run single, and Benoit came home on a wild pitch for the Diamond Gents' final run of the game.
The Maroon and White pounded out 13 hits, five extra-base hits, hit two sacrifice flies, and drew three walks. Each team committed two errors and left three men on base. Ozarks drew only one walk and struck out 10 times. Centenary walked three times and only struck out four times. The Eagles Rennie Arjona delivered a two-out RBI single in the top of the third for Ozarks' lone hit and run of the game.
Benoit led the way with his 3-3 effort and had two RBI, a double and a triple, and three runs scored. Boone, Forth, and Stringfellow each had two hits and Boone and Livesay each scored two runs. Hewitt was 1-4 with his triple and a run scored from the leadoff spot, Boone had two RBI, and Stringfellow had a game-high four RBI. Sophomore DH Cade LaBruyere (Iowa, La.) was 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored and freshman 1B Collin Pitts (Lufkin, Texas) went 1-3.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change.
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