DANVILLE, Ky. – No. 15 Centre baseball upped its win streak to five games as the Colonels swept the LaGrange Panthers in a high-scoring Saturday doubleheader, winning by scores of 11-7 and 14-11.
Game 1: Centre 11, LaGrange 7
- The runs came early and often for both teams. The visiting Panthers opened the game with two runs on two singles and a double to take an early edge.
- In Centre's first trip to the dish, the Colonels quickly got runners on the corners following singles from
Ben Prather and
Ayden Lohr.
Jonah Porter then smacked a double the other way into the gap to tie the game. After an
Evan Weyler single,
Graham Johnson doubled to give Centre a 3-2 lead. A walk to
Baylor Woodall loaded the bases again and Weyler eventually scored on a wild pitch. The Colonels capped off a five-run inning with an
Aaron Lopez RBI groundout.
- LaGrange chipped away at the lead with solo homers in each of the next two innings to cut it to 5-4. In the bottom of the fifth, the first two Centre runners reached as
Chase Austin walked and Weyler singled. After a sacrifice bunt, Lopez came up with two outs and connected on a clutch base hit for two RBIs and a 7-4 Centre lead.
- Leading 7-5 in the sixth, Centre put runners on second and third following a Prather walk, a Lohr single and a pair of steals. The Colonels got their first run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Austin. Lohr scored from third on a balk. Weyler and Johnson were hit by pitches and Woodall cleared the bases with a line drive that made it all the way to the base of the wall for a triple and an 11-5 lead for the Colonels.
- The Panthers scored a run in each of the next two innings, but Prather moved to the mound in the eighth and induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
Game 2: Centre 14, LaGrange 11
- The second game began in similar fashion as the first for the Centre offense as Prather led off with a walk, followed by singles from Lohr and Porter for a quick 2-0 Centre lead. Johnson then crushed a home run over the big wall in left field to double the advantage for the Colonels.
- It was more of the same in the second inning as Prather and Lohr walked, and a wild pitch moved the runners. Porter lined one up the middle for a base hit and two more RBIs. Following a double by Weyler,
Evan Rygalski blasted a two-run homer into the power alley to make it an 8-1 game.
- The Panthers refused to go away quietly, scoring a run in the third and two more in the fifth to make it 8-3. In the bottom of the sixth, the Colonels got one back as
Forrest Day beat out an infield single on a high chopper, eventually scoring on a sac fly by Lohr to make it 9-3.
- After LaGrange scored twice in the seventh, the Centre offense exploded in the bottom of the inning. Centre put runners on the corners after walks to Weyler and Rygalski and two wild pitches. Johnson continued his hot day with an RBI single. A bunt single by Woodall loaded the bases and Lopez was hit by a pitch for an RBI. Centre added three more runs in the inning as Prather singled and Lohr walked with the bases loaded. The final run came on an RBI groundout by Porter and the Colonels held a 14-5 lead.
- Things got interesting in the ninth as it featured three pitching changes and six runs for the Panthers, but
Perry Nadreau ultimately forced LaGrange to line out to complete the series sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
- The Colonels scored 30 runs in their three-game sweep of the Panthers and are averaging 10.4 runs per game in their current five-game win streak.
- Johnson led all players with four hits while driving in three, both career numbers. Porter also hit a career high with five RBIs. Weyler and Prather finished with five hits each across today's doubleheader.
NEXT UP
The Colonels will return to action on Apr. 1 with a rematch at Spalding. Centre defeated Spalding 11-8 on Mar. 19.
