BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Centre baseball team officially opened its 2021 season with a pair of games against conference opponents that will not count towards the team's conference record. The Colonels defeated no. 25 Hendrix 12-5 before losing 17-7 against no. 8 Birmingham-Southern.
GAME 1 RECAP
- The Warriors got on the board first against rookie hurler
Jess Miller, but Centre answered back in the bottom of the first without recording a hit.
Jordan Gunter and
Jamie Laframboise led off with walks and later scored following a Hendrix wild pitch and an RBI groundout from
Chris Esselman.
- The error bug got to the Colonels in the second inning as a passed ball and a pair of errors led to a three-run rally for Hendrix.
- Centre cut the Hendrix lead in half in the third as
Karson Thompson led off with a base hit and advanced to third following another Hendrix error. Gunter's sacrifice fly made it 4-3 Hendrix, but the Warriors got one back in the top of the fourth,
- After giving up a run in the fourth,
Connor Smith pitched his way out of a pair of jams in the next two innings to keep the Colonels in the game.
- The Colonels got back into the game in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with a
Patrick Hope single sandwiched in between walks from Esselman and
Will Cline. With the sacks packed,
Dillon Di Iorio worked a walk to plate Esselman, and then Hope scored on an RBI groundout by
Teddy Holloway to tie the score.
- In the seventh, Centre kicked off its biggest rally of the game. Gunter was hit by a pitch leading off and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a line drive double from
Jake Holloway. Centre loaded the bases after Esselman walked and Hope was hit by a pitch. Cline drove in the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly and Esselman scored after another Hendrix wild pitch. Di Iorio brought Hope across the plate with a double to center field and the Colonels led 9-5.
- The Warriors threatened in the top of the eighth with runners on second and third with one out, but
Will Orren struck out the next two Hendrix hitters to escape the predicament and preserve the four-run lead.
- In the bottom half of the eighth, the Colonels again got their first two hitters on base as Thompson reached on an error and Gunter walked. In an attempt to pick off Gunter, the Hendrix throw was off target and went into the outfield, allowing Thompson to score. A sac fly by Laframboise brought home Gunter and made it 11-5.
Jake Holloway followed with a triple and would later score on a wild pitch to give the Colonels a dozen runs for the game. Orren pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth to secure the first victory of the season for the Colonels.
GAME 2 RECAP
- Centre got off to another hot start as Gunter reached on a BSC error to lead off and was quickly driven home by Laframboise. Following a single from
Jake Holloway, Esselman launched a three-run bomb to right to make it 4-0.
- After giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first,
Jake Holloway pitched his way out of a bases loaded jam with nobody out to maintain a 4-2 Centre lead following a wild first inning.
- The Colonels padded their lead in the second as
Conner Jackson walked, advanced to second and later scored on a base hit by Laframboise.
- The Centre pitchers lost their location in the bottom half of the inning as the Panthers scored four runs to take the lead following a slew of wild pitches and walks. The Panthers continued their rally with five more runs over the next two innings to go up 10-5.
- Sixth inning walks from Cline, Di Iorio, Jackson and Gunter plated the Colonels' sixth run. Laframboise drove in his third run of the game on a sac fly, but that was as close as they got the rest of the way as BSC scored seven runs in the bottom half of the inning to seal the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
- Centre pitching struck out a dozen batters in the win over Hendrix, led by Smith with six.
- Esselman drove in four runs and scored three in today's doubleheader.
NEXT UP
Centre baseball will return to action on Sunday with another clash against Hendrix.
