ROME, Ga. – Centre baseball defeated Berry, 14-7, making history Friday afternoon with their 23rd victory of the season, setting the record for a program that dates back to the 1800s.
The Colonels' first 20-win season came back in 1996, and the previous record of 22 wins happened in 2001. This squad's 23 wins come with a three games left on the regular season schedule before postseason play.
With Friday's victory, the Colonels improve to 23-12 overall and 9-9 in the Southern Athletic Association, dropping the host Vikings to 25-13 overall and 11-8 in-conference.
HIGHLIGHTS
Centre loaded the bases with three consecutive singles from
Mason Falbo,
Chris Esselman and
Cameron Duggins in the second.
Patrick Hope's groundout would score Falbo for the game's first run.
A couple of triples from the Vikings led to two runs in the bottom of the frame, however, as the home side grabbed a 2-1 lead.
Scoring continued for the Colonels in the top of the third, as
Drew Schacht brought in
Will Kirk on a sacrifice fly.
Jake Holloway followed with a solo homerun, his third dinger of the season, to regain a 3-2 advantage.
Berry capitalized on a pair of errors and a two-run homer from Zach Huie in the bottom of the inning, again swinging the lead in its favor, 6-3.
Trailing 7-3 in the fifth, the Colonels put runners on the corners with one out for
Jordan Gunter. The sophomore coolly launched a three-run bomb over the fence in right center, his sixth of the year pulling Centre within 7-6.
Centre's bats did more damage in the sixth, accounting for five runs while regaining a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Kirk and Schacht came up with RBI singles, and Holloway delivered yet another homerun – this time a three-run shot – to make it 11-7.
Schacht contributed two more RBI singles, and Falbo brought in another as Centre ran away with the win.
Five individuals recorded multiple hits as Centre totaled 17 as a team, reaching double-digit base knocks for the 10th time this season.
Sam Shelley went five innings in the start, striking out a pair of batters while surrendering six earned runs.
Will Orren tossed three spotless frames in relief, and
Aaryn Chandler went out for a scoreless ninth to close the win.
UP NEXT
Centre and Berry close the series Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
