DANVILLE, Ky. – The Centre baseball team celebrated Senior Day secured its first outright regular season league championship since 1987 on Saturday as they completed a doubleheader sweep to take all three games in their series against the Hendrix Warriors. Centre won both games in dramatic fashion, mounting late comebacks to win by scores of 5-3 and 5-4.
 
Game 1: Centre 5, Hendrix 3
 
- The Colonels got on the board first in the bottom of the second as Aaron Lopez connected on an opposite field single. With two outs, senior Karson Thompson belted a triple off the 395-foot mark in center field to give Centre a quick 1-0 lead.
- Centre added to the lead in the next inning as Ben Prather led off with a base hit, stole second and eventually scored on a Hendrix error to put the home team up by two runs.
- In the fourth, the Warriors rallied for three runs on three hits and a walk to go up for the first time at 3-2.
- Things stayed that way until the seventh when the top of the order started a Centre rally. Senior Josh Cunningham went the other way with a base hit. A shot up the middle by Prather moved the speedy Cunningham to third. Evan Weyler laid down a bunt to the pitcher and a fantastic slide by Cunningham got him underneath the catcher's tag for the tying run.
- With two outs, senior Jamie Laframboise smacked a triple into the gap to put Centre back on top by a score of 5-3.
- In the eighth, Zach Heavern allowed a leadoff single, but was able to pick off the runner in between strikeouts to escape danger. Heavern then retired the Warriors in order in the ninth to cap off the victory that guaranteed at least a share of the regular season conference title.
 
Game 2: Centre 5, Hendrix 4
 
- In the seven-inning series finale it was the Warriors who cracked the scoreboard first as the first hitter of the game reached on an error and scored on a two-out single.
- The Colonels got back into the game in the third. After a walk to Chase Austin, senior Conner Jackson ripped a base hit the other way to put two men on. Prather then launched a fly ball that carried all the way over the wall in straightaway center field for a three-run bomb that gave Centre a 3-1 lead.
- A leadoff double and two long fly balls produced a Hendrix run in the top of the fifth, but the Colonels responded in their half of the inning. Jackson led off with a fly ball that fell for a base hit. After a sacrifice bunt from Cunningham, Prather came through once again with an opposite field single that brought home Jackson and made it a two-run lead once again.
- The Warriors showed their resiliency by scoring on a sac fly in the sixth and then driving in the tying run with two outs.
- In Centre's half of the sixth, Aaron Lopez doubled into the gap to give the Colonels a runner in scoring position with one out. Pinch runner extraordinaire Carson Mire advanced to third on a wild pitch and easily scored after Thompson smacked a base hit past the shortstop to put Centre back on top 5-4.
- Hendrix got the tying run on first with one out, but Ayden Lohr made a difficult catch in the outfield and then senior David Kinsbrunner put the finishing touches on the game with a strikeout for the 27th out and the outright league title.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
 
- After his outstanding complete game win on Friday, Prather had a brilliant day at the plate in the doubleheader, going 4-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored for the Saturday session.
- Centre took advantage of Hendrix's aggressive style of play, picking off baserunners three times across two games, with Cunningham ending an inning with a strike to third to gun down another runner.
- Today's doubleheader sweep gives Centre 29 wins on the year, the most in a season in program history, breaking the previous mark of 28 held by the 2023 team.
 
NEXT UP
 
The Colonels will head to Legends Park in Lexington for the regular season finale against the Transylvania Pioneers.