DANVILLE, Ky. – The Centre baseball team wrapped up the conference slate in 2023 with a doubleheader against the Berry Vikings. The Colonels walked off for a 4-3 win in game 1 before falling 6-2 in the second game.
Game 1: Centre 4, Berry 3
- The Colonels quickly loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning on consecutive singles by
Josh Cunningham,
Dillon Di Iorio and
Ben Prather. A ground ball by
Chase Austin resulted in a pair of runs crossing the plate and an early lead for Centre.
- The Vikings rallied to tie the game as they scored runs in each of the next two innings. The scored remained squared at 2-2 until the seventh inning when Berry took a 3-2 lead on an RBI single.
- With two outs in the eighth, pinch hitter
Will Cline kept the inning alive with a base hit.
Conner Jackson then smashed a fly ball that just got past the diving right fielder, resulting in pinch runner
Brad Cotcamp coming in for the tying run.
- After
David Kinsbrunner struck out the side in the ninth, Cunningham and Di Iorio delivered consecutive singles, and then Prather poked one through the middle of the infield for a base hit to bring in Cunningham for the walk-off victory.
Game 2: Berry 6, Centre 2
- In the second game it was the Vikings offense that took charge, scoring runs in five of the first six innings to go up 6-0.
- Centre staged a rally in the bottom of the sixth. Cunningham led off with a single and Austin worked a walk to put two runners on.
Karson Thompson smacked a base hit to plate the first Centre run of the day.
- Cline lifted a sac fly to the warning track to score Austin and cut the deficit to 6-2, but the Colonels went down in order in the seventh inning as Berry secured the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
- The Colonels had 14 hits in game 1, with Cunningham, Di Iorio and Prather finishing with three hits each from the top of the order.
- Kinsbrunner earned his fourth victory of the season after pitching the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit and striking out three.
- Centre's win in game 1 was the 25th of the season for the Colonels, setting a new program record for wins in a season.
- With his base hit in game 2, Cunningham established a new single season program record with 60 hits, breaking the record of 59 previously co-owned by Eric Moore in 2006 and Jeffrey Williams in 2009.
NEXT UP
Centre baseball will play their regular season finale on Monday as they host the Mount St. Joseph Lions on Apr. 24.