Posted: May 06, 2022
CLEBURNE, Texas - Third-seeded Centenary College opened its part in the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Baseball Championship with a 2-1 win over No. 2 seed Texas Lutheran University on Friday evening. Official Website l Tournament Stats l Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Centenary senior Preston Ludwick hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the first inning to give the Gents an early lead.
- First-year left-hander Tyler Herrera got the starting nod for Centenary and held Texas Lutheran scoreless until the ninth, scattering 11 hits over the first eight innings of the game.
- Texas Lutheran sophomore Aric Vasquez hit a solo homer with one out in the ninth to chase Herrera from the game.
- Junior reliever Parker Primeaux came on and got the final two outs to collect the save.
CENTENARY COLLEGE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Preston Ludwick 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 run, 1 HR
- Gary Hewitt: 3-4, 1 RBI
- Tyler Welch: 2-4
- Cole Collins: 2-4
- Tyler Herrera (WP): 8.1 IP, 6 H, 4 K, 1 ER
- Parker Primeaux (SV): 0.2 IP, 1 K
TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Aric Vasquez: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 run, 1 3B, 1 HR
- Joseph Burch (WP): 8.2 IP, 12 H, 2 ER, 7 K
NOTABLES
- With the win, Centenary moved to 11-15 all time at the SCAC Championship.
- The Gents last win in the SCAC tournament came against Trinity in the 2018 event.
- This is the first time Centenary has defeated Texas Lutheran in the SCAC Baseball Tournament. The Bulldogs had won the previous three meetings with the most recent meeting coming back in 2018.
- The combined three runs was the lowest total in a single game on the opening day of the SCAC Tournament since Trinity beat Millsaps 2-1 in game one of the 2012 tournament.
- Herrera’s 8.1 innings pitched was a season-high for the SCAC Freshman and Pitcher-of-the-Year. His previous high was 8.0 in a win over Trinity earlier in the season. His win on day one of the SCAC Tournament marks the first time since 2016 the Pitcher-of-the-Year has also earned a victory on the opening day of the tournament. TLU’s Nathan Malinovsky was the last pitcher to achieve that with a win over Southwestern.
- Herrera is now a perfect 7-0 on the season.
UP NEXT
Centenary will take on top seed Trinity at Noon CT on Saturday, while Texas Lutheran will face St. Thomas in the first elimination game at 3:30 p.m. CT.
