Baseball News

Baseball wins two, takes series against Sewanee

After splitting the opening day double-header against conference foe Sewanee the day before, the Centre College baseball team defeated Sewanee 4-2 and 14-4 in a double-header Sunday, April 13 in Sewanee, Tenn.

The wins put the Colonels at 17-13 on the season, 8-8 in SCAC play. With the losses, the Tigers fall to 5-26, 3-12 in conference games. The 8-8 conference record marks the first time since the 1997 that the Colonels have achieved a .500 record or better in conference play. The 17-13 record is also the best record a Centre team has had this late into the season since 2001.

Game one of the double-header featured another strong pitching performance by junior Jake Jones (Griffin, Ga.) and clutch hitting to get the Colonels the 4-2 win.

Junior Brandon Rosen (Ashland, Ky.) opened up the scoring with a solo home run to give Centre the early 1-0 lead over the Tigers. Centre added another run in the third inning after a double by sophomore Steven Kull (Frankfort, Ky.) and an RBI sacrifice fly by freshman John Clark (Lexington, Ky.).

Sewanee responded with two runs of their own off Jones in the bottom of the third to even the score at 2-2 on a hit batsman and three singles.

After a scoreless fourth, Centre started the fifth inning with a walk to Kevin McGee (Louisville, Ky.) and a single by Kull. With two runners on, Jeffrey Williams (Knoxville, Tenn.) reached on a throwing error which scored McGee. Clark then drove in his second run of the game with another sacrifice fly to put the Colonels ahead 4-2.

Jones shut down the Tigers in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings before it looked like Sewanee may rally in the seventh inning. Trailing 4-2, a hit batsman and a walk, followed by a single loaded the bases with two outs for Taylor Burns, who had a walk-off single the day before. On a 0-1 pitch, Jones induced a pop out to left field to end the game.

Jones picked up the win for the Colonels, improving to 4-2 on the season with the complete game effort. Jones allowed two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out three.

The Centre offense managed only six hits on the game, but was led by Steven Kull who had two hits including a double and scored two runs. Brandon Rosen went 1-3 at the plate with a home run.

Chris Mauro went the distance for the Tigers in the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits while walking two and striking out one.

The Tigers were led at the plate by Roscoe Dean who went 3-4 with a run scored and Richard Cassedy who was 2-3.

Game two of the double-header featured the Colonels offense coming alive for 14 runs on 13 hits as they defeated the Tigers 14-5 and took the series, three games to one.

Centre opened the scoring in the first inning to get the early lead. Jeffrey Williams (Knoxville, Ky.) led off the game with a single then stole second base and moved to third on a fly out. Senior Ben Jeffers (New Albany, Ohio) then scored Williams with a ground out to give the Colonels the early lead.

Freshman starting pitcher Cory Crowdis (Louisville, Ky.) held the lead for Centre through the first inning, but Sewanee got to him for three runs on four hits in the bottom half of the second inning.

The Sewanee lead would not last long, as Centre put up two more runs to tie the game in the top of the third on only one hit with the help of a pair of walks, an error, and a wild pitch.

Sewanee again added a run in the fourth inning, but Centre responded with three more runs in the top of the fifth. Freshman Steven Proctor (Springfield, Ga.) reached on an error, then Jeffers walked. After a couple stolen bases, Jake Jones drove in a run with a ground out to tie the game at 4-4. Sophomore Jose Ordonez (Boston, Mass.) drove in Jeffers with a sacrifice fly, then senior Kevin Mcgee (Louisville, Ky.) singled to drive in Rosen and give the Colonels a 6-4 lead.

Sewanee would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth off Crowdis, but it would not be enough. Centre put up six runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by a Jones home run and a Proctor double then two more in the eighth to put the game away and get the 14-5 victory.

Crowdis picked up the win for the Colonels, improving to 2-1 on the season. Crowdis worked six innings, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking four. Crowdis was relieved by senior Jarrod Williams (Carrollton, Ky.) who closed the game with three scoreless innings of relief to pick up the save. In his three innings of work, Williams allowed no runs on two hits while walking two and striking out three.

At the plate, Centre pounded out 13 hits, led by Jake Jones and Jeffrey Williams. Jones was 3-4 with a home run, four runs driven in a two runs scored. Williams went 3-6 with two runs scored and had a stolen base. Kevin McGee also added two hits and drove in a run, and Ben Jeffers went 1-2 with four runs scored and three stolen bases.

Andrew Rowan suffered the loss for the Tigers, allowing six runs, two earned, on seven hits in 4.2 innings. Rowan walked four and struck out four in the loss.

At the plate, the Tigers were led by Taylor Irwin and Franklin Pogue who each had two hits.

The weekend wins qualify Centre for the SCAC Cross Divisional playoff where the Colonels will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to play Southwestern University in a best of three series April 18-20. The winner of the series will advance to the SCAC Spring Sports Festival.

The Colonels are scheduled to return to action Tuesday, April 15 in a non-conference game against Thomas More at Gary Wright Field in Danville, Ky. First pitch is set for 5 pm.