ROME, Ga. – The opening round of the Southern Athletic Association Tournament resulted in a nearly flawless day for Centre baseball as the Colonels defeated the host Berry Vikings 15-0 in seven innings via run rule.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The Colonels began the onslaught in the second inning as
Patrick Hope and
Karson Thompson led off with consecutive singles. A double by
Luc Morgan plated the first two runs of the day.
- When the Vikings got their turn at bat in the second, Joey Garcia reached on a bunt single, but was summarily gunned down by
Perry Nadreau on a stolen base attempt to squash the rally.
- With two outs and runners on second and third,
Jordan Gunter delivered a clutch base hit to give Centre a 4-0 lead. Gunter then stole second and following a walk to
Mark Pyburn,
Josh Cunningham plated the fifth run of the inning with a single.
- In Centre's half of the third, Thompson led off with a single up the middle and stole second. With two outs, Nadreau came through in the clutch with a base hit up the middle that deflected off the pitcher's arm to bring in Thompson.
- Centre added another run in the fifth as
Dillon Di Iorio was hit by a pitch to lead off, was sacrificed to second and eventually scored on another two-out hit from Gunter.
- Two more runs crossed the plate for Centre in the sixth. Hope reached on an error and Morgan singled. An opposite field base hit by Di Iorio scored Hope, and following a pitching change, Nadreau delivered another two-out RBI with a single.
- Moving into the seventh, Gunter, having one of the best offensive days of his career, added to it with a leadoff homer to right field. A Cunningham hit by pitch was sandwiched in between walks from Pyburn and Hope to load the bases. Thompson then ripped a double to left to plate two more runs. After Morgan walked to load the bases again, Nadreau drove in two more to put Centre up by two touchdowns. The final run of the night for the Colonels came after a wild pitch allowed Morgan to cross the plate.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Lost in the Colonels' offensive explosion,
Carson Werrmann pitched one of the best games of his career, as the bunt single in the second inning was the only hit the senior allowed in a complete game shutout, his second in the last three games. Werrmann struck out four Vikings batters and now has not given up a run in his last 23 innings of work.
- Gunter, Thompson and Nadreau all finished with a game high three hits, as the Colonels scored their 15 runs on 15 hits. Nadreau led all players with a career high four RBIs.
- Centre's 4-5-6 hitters, Hope, Thompson and Morgan, went a combined 6-12 at the dish with three RBIs, three walks and nine combined runs scored, as they each crossed the plate three times.
NEXT UP
The Colonels move on to the winners' bracket of the Berry pod of the 2022 SAA Tournament, as no. 6 seed Millsaps awaits in the next round. The Majors took two of three from the Colonels in early March and beat no. 3 seed Rhodes 6-4 in the opening round.
