Conway, Ark. - The Centenary softball team earned another split on Sunday as the Ladies blanked Westminster (Mo.) 12-0 in five innings and dropped a slugfest to the host Hendrix College Warriors by a score of 14-12 on the final day of the 2023 Warrior Spring Fling at Warrior Softball Field.
The Ladies (2-4) earned a weekend split of four games in the tournament after a win over Westminster (20-7 in 5 innings) on Saturday and a 6-4 loss to Hendrix. Centenary scored 48 total runs during the weekend, averaging 12 runs per game and defeated the Blue Jays of Westminster a combined 32-7 in the two wins.
Game one recap: Centenary 12 Westminster (MO.) 0 (5 inn.)
The Ladies, after a record-breaking 20-7 win over the Blue Jays the day before, jumped all over them to take a 9-0 lead after two innings to cruise to the run-rule victory in five innings. Centenary added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth and sophomore P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.) pitched a complete-game shutout as she went 5 innings and allowed just four hits with three strikeouts. She did not walk a batter and faced 19 batters, throwing 53 pitches – 37 for strikes. Scarbrock now owns seven CG's in her young career.
Freshman C Jaeden Thrasher (Forney, Texas) had a season-high six RBI as she finished 2-2 with a walk and two doubles. Junior RF Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.) and sophomore DP Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.) each collected three hits as Cox finished 3-3 with a triple, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base and Rivero was 3-3 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Freshman 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) was 1-3 with an RBI, a double, and two runs scored and senior CF Mallory Stout (Trinity, Texas) went 1-3 with three runs scored and two walks. Senior LF Kaylea Patridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) was 0-2 but drew a walk and scored a run a day after hitting for the cycle.
Sophomore 1B Kaitlyn Dickey (Church Point, La.) was 1-3 with an RBI, sophomore 3B Alyssa Akers (Maurice, La.) finished 1-2 with an RBI and a run scored, and junior SS Mackenzie Clark (Upland, Calif.) was 1-3. The Ladies had 13 hits, played error-free ball, drew five walks and only struck out one time. The Blue Jays did not draw a walk, struck out three times, committed one error, and left four on base.
Haley Miller suffered the loss for the Blue Jays as she was tagged for 12 runs, all earned, and 13 hits in her four innings of work. She walked five and struck out one as she faced 28 batters, hitting one, and threw 92 pitches (45 strikes). Maddie Marrero, Emily Esquivel, Tatum Bradshaw, and Madison Scott each collected one hit for Westminster.
Rivero singled home Cox for a 1-0 Ladies' lead in the top of the first and Thrasher followed with a 2-RBI double to score Stout and Rivero for a 3-0 lead. Rivero and Thrasher struck again in the second, as Rivero doubled home a pair and the rookie Thrasher cleared the bases for a 9-0 lead. She then walked with the bases loaded to score the Ladies' 10th run in the fourth inning and Dickey and Akers' RBI singles gave the Ladies a 1-0 lead later in the inning.
Game two recap: Hendrix 14 Centenary 12
The host Warriors edged the Ladies in an offensive battle, finishing with 16 hits to the Ladies' eight. Hendrix, the visiting team for the game, scored three times in its first at-bat but the Ladies responded with five in the bottom half. After a scoreless second frame, the Ladies added one in the third for a 6-3 lead.
Hendrix, though, exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth to take a 10-6 lead but the Ladies again came back and scored three of their own to cut the deficit to 10-9. Neither team scored in the fifth and then Hendrix added four in the top half of the sixth to take a 14-9 lead. Centenary scored two in the bottom of the sixth to cut its deficit to 14-11 and added one in the bottom of the seventh but fell short, leaving the tying runs on base.
Rivero had another big game at the plate as she finished 2-3 with two RBI, three runs scored, and two walks to wind up 5-6 with five RBI and six runs in the two games. Dickey went 1-3 with three RBI and a stolen base, Akers was 2-4 with a double and two RBI, and Cox was 0-3 but scored two runs, drew a walk, and stole two bases. Stout was 1-3 with three runs scored, an RBI, two walks, and a stolen base and Stokes finished 1-3 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a walk. Clark went 0-1 but drew a walk, stole a base, and scored a run.
Sophomore SS Brooke Sandefur (Baton Rouge, La.) went 1-2 with a run scored and two stolen bases and Thrasher had a sacrifice fly and drew a walk in three at-bats. Freshman RF Sophie Vidrine (Eunice, La.) went 0-3 but drew a walk.
Freshman Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) started in the circle and received a no-decision as she allowed four runs, all earned, and nine hits in three innings of work. She walked one and did not record a strikeout. She faced 19 batters and threw 56 pitches, 31 for strikes. Freshman Abigail Hodgson (Georgetown, Texas) relieved Crow and was charged with five runs, all earned, on three hits. She faced five batters and walked two and allowed a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth to suffer the loss to fall to 0-2 this season, throwing 18 total pitches – seven for strikes. Scarbrock pitched the final four innings and allowed five runs, four earned, and four hits with a walk and a K. She faced 20 batters, hit two, and threw 65 pitches (40 strikes).
Emma Barrentine picked up the win for the Warriors as she started and went the first 3.2 innings and allowed nine runs, eight earned, on just four hits with eight walks and one strikeout. She faced 25 batters, hit one, and threw 86 pitches (37 strikes) as she was bailed out by her offense, and teammate Kelsey Sample who came in for the final 3.1 innings. Sample allowed three runs, all earned, on four hits with one walk. She faced 17 batters, hit one, and threw 42 pitches and 28 strikes.
The Warriors scored all three runs in the first after two were out. Barrentine helped herself with a two-RBI double and 2B Paizley Vaught delivered an RBI single. Cox walked and promptly stole second base to get the Ladies off to a fast start in the bottom of the first. Clark then walked and both runners moved up as Cox went to third on a wild pitch and Cark stole second. Stokes then walked to load the bases with no outs and Rivero ripped a two-run single to left. Stout walked and Thrasher hit a tying sac fly, Rivero scored on a wild pitch, and Stout scored on a throwing error for a 5-3 lead. Akers delivered a two-out RBI single to score Stout in the third and make it 6-3 Ladies.
Crow was lifted after allowing a lead off triple by Aubrey Lee in the fourth. Hodgson walked the first two batters she faced and then 1B Tori Veith launched a grand slam to give the Warriors a 7-6 lead. LF Andie Houser came through with an RBI single for an 8-6 lead and Scarbrock came in to relieve Hodgson. She allowed two runs but got the Ladies out of the inning trailing 10-6. Stout's sacrifice fly and a two-out two-run single by Dickey in the bottom half got the Ladies back to within a run at 10-9.
Both teams went quietly in the fifth but the Warriors scored four times in the sixth to extend their lead to 14-9. But, the Ladies came back again, scoring two runs with two outs to cut it to 14-12. Scarbrock retired the Warriors in order in the top of the seventh and the Ladies came to the plate needing two to tie and three to win. Cox was hit by a pitch to lead things off and then stole second. Sandefur followed with a single, moving Cox to third, and then stole second to put the tying runners at second and third with none out.
Stokes brought Cox home on a sac fly to left and Rivero walked to put runners at first and second with one out. Stout then flew out for the second out but both runners tagged up. Thrasher then stepped to the plate with a chance to tie the game but she flew out to left to end the game as the Warriors escaped with the win.
The Ladies and Warriors each left nine on base and Hendrix committed two errors while Centenary made just one. The Ladies drew a season-high nine walks and only struck out one time. Hendrix struck out once and walked four times. The Warriors had four extra-base hits and stole two bases while the Ladies had one – Akers' double, hit four sacrifice flies, and stole a whopping seven bases. The four sac flies are a new division III era (2012-present) single-game record, breaking the previous record of three set last season against Dallas. The seven stolen bases are also one shy of the current single-game mark of eight which has been accomplished twice and most recently on March 24, 2018 against Huntingdon.
The Ladies will return home to face the Millsaps College Majors (4-2) on Tuesday in a non-conference doubleheader set for 2 and 4 p.m. at the Centenary Softball Complex.
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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