SHREVEPORT, La. - This weekend pits the top two teams in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference as the Centenary baseball team hosts Trinity in a three-game series beginning on Saturday, Mar. 9 with a doubleheader slated at 1 p.m.
Trinity was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the conference with Centenary selected second entering its first season in the league. The two squads combined to receive all five, first-place nods.
Centenary and the Tigers both stand at 5-1 in SCAC action. The Gents sports a 10-3 mark overall while TU sits at 14-2 on the season. The two squads rank among the top two teams in team hitting and pitching entering the weekend series.
The Maroon and White are hitting .328 on the campaign while the pitching staff has totaled a 3.21 ERA. The Tigers have posted a .344 average at the dish and 2.54 ERA as a squad.
Jemari James and Craig Littleman lead the Gents at the plate. James leads the squad with a .471 clip while Littleman is hitting .395 entering the weekend. The duo ranks second and fifth in the conference in batting average. Six Centenary hitters litter the top 20 spots in the SCAC in hitting.
Taylor Henry ranks second in the conference in pitching with a 1.15 ERA. The sophomore ranks fifth in the SCAC in strikeouts with 17. Senior hurler Cole Thompson ranks fourth in the conference and leads the Gents in punch outs with 23.
Pat Hirschberg leads Trinity at the dish with a .483 batting average which leads the SCAC. Christian Muscarel ranks fourth in the league batting .417 - second on the team. Carter Lauck leads the conference with an ERA just over 1.00. Ryan Lucero tops the SCAC in strikeouts with 32 while registering the third lowest ERA with a 1.72.
Centenary took the final two games of its series with Dallas - both ending at 4-3 - to enter the weekend riding a two-game streak. The Gents dropped the first contest of the series snapping a six-game win streak. The Gents three setbacks have all come by a combined three runs.
Trinity enters boasting an eight-game streak - the longest win streak in the conference. The Tigers claimed midweek outings over Cardinal Stritch and DeSales after sweeping a conference series from Southwestern last weekend.
Following the weekend series, Centenary closes out its season-long homestand against LeTourneau on Tuesday, Mar. 12 at 6 p.m.
