BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (CentreColonels.com) – The Centre baseball team dropped a pair of contests at fifth-ranked Birmingham Southern to open Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play on Saturday afternoon at Striplin Field. The Colonels were bested 4-0 in the first game before being edged by the nationally-ranked Panthers 4-3 in game two. Centre moves to 7-4 overall and 0-2 in SAA action while the Panthers improved to 10-2 and 4-1, respectively.

In game one, after three scoreless innings, Birmingham Southern grabbed a 2-0 lead when David Scott hit a two-run single to center field.

The Panthers added a pair of runs in the seventh inning on a Centre fielding error and a groundout.

Junior left fielder Alex Richardson (Mount Washington, Ky.) led the Colonels at the plate, going 2-for-4.

Junior pitcher Trevor Brewer (Bowling Green, Ky.) suffered the loss for Centre, allowing two runs on six hits with a strikeout and three walks across 5.1 innings of work.

In the nightcap, the Colonels got on the board first in the second inning when senior catcher Zach Montgomery (Louisville, Ky.) punched a single up the middle scoring freshman center fielder Wesley Jorette (Lawrenceburg, Ky.).

The Colonels extended their lead to 2-0 in the third inning when junior first baseman Greyson Evans (Kernersville, N.C.) plated junior second baseman Grant Herald (Lexington, Ky.) on a groundout.

The Panthers knotted the game at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third frame before taking their first lead of the game at 3-2 when Tyler Hamel reached on an error in the bottom of the sixth.

In the top of the seventh inning, the Colonels capitalized on a Birmingham Southern miscue, as senior outfielder Forrest Goodwin (Mount Juliet, Tenn.) scored on an error to even the game at 3-3.

The Panthers would load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, when Jacob Drescher scored on a wild pitch to give Birmingham Southern the victory.

Senior pitcher Rob Caudill (Danville, Ky.) turned in another impressive performance against the high-powered Panthers offense, allowing three earned runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in 6.1 innings of work.

Centre and Birmingham Southern close the three-game series tomorrow with a single game beginning at 12 p.m. CT.