DANVILLE, Ky. - The Centre baseball team hosted its first ever NCAA Division III Tournament game as the Piedmont Lions traveled to Gary Wright Field for opening round regional play. The no. 2 seed Lions defeated the no. 3 seed Colonels in a hard-fought 3-2 battle.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The Lions got on the board first with a leadoff double and then a two-out single to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
- Centre bounced back in the top of the third as
Forrest Day led off with a single to the opposite field and was sacrificed to second.
Ben Prather delivered a shot up the middle for a base hit to bring in the sophomore shortstop and tie the game at 1-1.
- Things remained tied until the top of the fifth when the Colonels stayed alive with two outs after
Jamison Craig launched a double into the gap. Prather followed suit with an opposite field double to give Centre the lead at 2-1.
- Centre held onto the lead until the bottom of the seventh when the Piedmont offense had its most productive inning, scoring a pair of runs on two singles and two doubles to regain the lead at 3-2.
- After a scoreless eighth, Centre threatened in the ninth after
Baylor Woodall was hit by a pitch and
Michael Lynch worked a four-pitch pinch-hit walk. A deep fly ball from Day resulted in a leaping catch at the wall by Piedmont in right field, and although it was deep enough to advance the lead runner to third, the Lions got the 27th out on the next batter.
NEXT UP
Centre will face no. 4 seed Aurora in an elimination game on Saturday at 11 AM ET. A win would set up another elimination game later that day with the right to play on Sunday on the line.
