DANVILLE, Ky. - The Centre baseball team won its fourth series in conference play as the Colonels split their Saturday doubleheader against a talented Trinity Tigers squad. The Colonels won a 13-12 thriller in game 1 before falling 14-8 in game 2.
Game 1: Centre 13, Trinity 12
- The visiting Tigers struck quickly in the opener as the first two hitters reached on a single and a double, with an RBI groundout and another single giving Trinity an early 2-0 lead.
- In the bottom of the first, the Colonels put runners on the corners after
Ben Prather walked and
Chase Austin singled. With two outs,
Aaron Lopez,
Baylor Woodall and
Forrest Day all walked, with the final two free passes coming with the bases loaded for RBIs.
- The bases were still loaded when
Jonah Porter came up and belted a towering opposite field grand slam to cap off a monster inning for the Centre offense with a 6-2 lead.
- Over the next few innings the Centre bats went cold and the Tigers cut into the lead, scoring two in the fourth and one in the fifth to narrow the margin to 6-5.
- Centre got a run back in the seventh as the Colonels loaded the bases and Lopez lifted a fly ball deep enough to score Prather on a sacrifice, putting Centre back on top by two at 7-5.
- In the top of the eighth, Trinity loaded the bases with nobody out and took the lead on a wild pitch, an RBI groundout and a base hit to retake the lead at 8-7.
- Now it was Centre's turn to respond and they did just that, loading the bases without putting the ball in play on a pair of hit batters and a walk. Prather worked a walk after a long at-bat to tie the game at 8-8. An RBI groundout from Lohr put Centre back on top and a Trinity error led to another run for the Colonels, making it a 10-8 game.
- The pendulum swung back in favor of the Tigers in the top of the ninth as four hits and a walk led to four runs, helping the visitors again regain the lead at 12-10.
- With backs to the wall once more, Centre put runners on the corners following a Lopez walk, a balk, and a single from Day. A shot up the middle by
Graham Johnson made it a 12-11 game and Prather was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. With the infield playing in, Lohr ripped a base hit over the infield to drive in a pair and complete the comeback victory for the Colonels.
Game 2: Trinity 14, Centre 8
- The early stages of this one belonged to Trinity as the Tigers scored the first 12 runs of the contest, including an eight-run third inning.
- With the run rule in play, Centre fought back in the third as Day and Porter led off the inning with singles and Prather was hit by another pitch to load the bases. Austin drove in the first Centre run of the game with a walk and
Evan Weyler lined one up the middle to score two more.
- Trailing 13-3 in the fourth, Woodall and Porter connected on singles. With two outs, Prather went the other way for a base hit to drive in another run. Lohr then smashed a triple off the wall in the gap to deliver two more RBIs to make it a 13-6 game.
- After a Trinity solo homer in the fifth made it 14-6, Centre put together another rally in the seventh as Austin and Weyler singled and Lopez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Woodall walked on four straight pitches for the first run of the inning and Day drove in Weyler on a sac fly to make it 14-8, but that was as close as it got the rest of the way.
NEXT UP
Centre will travel to Berry to compete in the SAA Tournament beginning on May 7. More details will be posted on centrecolonels.com and our social media platforms once the tiebreaker scenarios have been determined for seeding.
