BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Centre baseball team played their second ranked opponent in as many weekend series as they hit the road to face no. 22 Birmingham-Southern. The Colonels fell in the opening game 4-3 on a walk-off homer, but rebounded with a 5-3 win in seven innings in the nightcap to get the split.
 
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS
 
- Jess Miller got the start for the Colonels in the opener and pitched his way out of a bases loaded jam in the first.
- In the second, the Colonels got on the board first as Patrick Hope led off and pulled one over the fence for a solo homer.
- After threatening a couple times, the Panthers finally got to Miller in the fourth, scoring three runs on three hits and a hit by pitch.
- The action slowed down in the middle innings as only one runner from either team got into scoring position across the next three frames. However in the eighth, Hope led off with a walk and Jake Holloway launched a two-run blast to tie the score.
- Pitching in relief of Miller, Will Orren allowed runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth, but pitched out of each predicament. In the ninth, with Orren working his third inning of relief, BSC's Brian Williams led off with a walk-off homer to seal the 4-3 win for the Panthers.
 
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS
 
- Centre got things going in the second inning as Chris Esselman led off with a triple and a sacrifice fly by J. Ross put the Colonels on the board first.
- The Panthers evened the game in the second inning with a solo homer, the first run allowed by starting pitcher Carson Werrmann this season.
- In the third, the Centre bats caught fire, starting when Joshua Cunningham led off with a homer down the right field line for his first career round tripper. Jordan Gunter drove a base hit up the middle and Hope walked, putting two men on for Holloway, who uncorked a three-run homer to put the Colonels up 5-1.
- After another solo homer in the bottom of the third, BSC loaded the bases with one out and looked for more, but Werrmann induced an inning-ending double play to escape the situation.
- BSC cut the lead to 5-3 in the fifth with their third homer of the game and once again loaded the bases with one out, but just like in the previous inning, Werrmann came through with two tough outs to preserve the two-run lead.
- David Sickles took the mound in relief of Werrmann and after allowing two Panthers to reach in the seventh with two outs, completed the six-out save for the win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
 
- Holloway finished with five of the eight RBIs for the Colonels in the Saturday doubleheader.
- Werrmann earned a tough victory for Centre, throwing 98 pitches in five innings and striking out five.
- Centre had an efficient second game at the plate, scoring five runs on just six hits and stranding just two baserunners.
- The two-inning save marked the first for Sickles in his career.
 
NEXT UP
 
The Colonels and Panthers will wrap up their four-game set on Sunday.