By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Assistant AD for Communications
A strong second half of the conference season has lifted the Centenary baseball team into the mix at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament beginning Thursday at La Moderna Field in Cleburne, Texas.
The No. 6 seed Diamond Gents (21-19 overall, 16-14 in the SCAC) will face No. 3 seed Concordia University 25-15, 18-12 SCAC) in the opening game of the tournament at 11 Thursday morning. It is a double-elimination bracket.
Centenary clinched a berth into the SCAC Tournament and completed a three-game series sweep over the University of the Ozarks Eagles with a 16-6 run-rule victory in seven innings on Saturday at Shehee Stadium.
The Maroon and White opened the series with a 6-1 win last Thursday night and followed that with a 15-1 win in seven innings on Friday.
The Diamond Gents, who finished 10-6 at home, rebounded from an 0-3 start to conference play to go 16-11 the rest of the way including winning five of its final six conference series.
Freshman right-hander Garritt Romero was named the SCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week on Monday after he tossed his first-career complete game in Thursday’s win, which set the tone for the Diamond Gents’ series sweep. He allowed just one earned run in his nine innings of work on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts. He faced 32 batters and threw just 76 pitches with 49 for strikes.
SOFTBALL: The Ladies (16-22, 14-16 SCAC) have qualified for the SCAC Tournament for the 10th season in a row and will be the No. 6 seed in the event and will face No. 3 seed Concordia University on Friday at 1:30.
The tournament is set to begin on Friday and will run through Sunday in Abilene, Texas, on the campus of McMurry University.
The Ladies were swept by the University of the Ozarks this past weekend on the road as they fell 3-2 in the series finale on Sunday preceded by a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Eagles on Saturday, falling 7-3 and 4-1.
TRACK & FIELD: The Ladies and Gents capped action in the 2026 SCAC Championships on Sunday in Abilene on the McMurry campus.
The Gents finished ninth with 15 points and the Ladies finished 11th with three points. The following earned top 10 finishes in their respective events during the weekend:
Sophomore Dwayne Mills Jr. took eighth in the 100-meter dash (10.96);
Sophomore Clayton Hancock, freshman Malcolm Pierce, Bryan Washington, and freshman Zack Wroten ran a time of 3:23.51 in the 4 x 400-meter relay to finish fourth;
Freshman Michael Cunningham captured Centenary’s top finish, fourth in the discus (139-3), and 10th in the javelin as he threw 133-9;
Sophomore Jay Scott earned seventh in the long jump (21-8 3/4);
Sophomore Grayson Shugart finished sixth in the triple jump (33-8). Sophomore Gabrielle Malagarie finished ninth in the high jump (4-7 3/4).
STUNT: The Centenary STUNT team finished its second season in historic fashion at the National Tournament in Nashville.
USA Cheer hosted the STUNT National Championship Tournament at Lipscomb University. The Ladies entered the tournament as the sixth seed after finishing their regular season with an 8-9 record.
Six teams were welcomed into the National Tournament for DIII; Muskingum University (1), George Fox (2), Saint Mary’s College (3), Misercordia (4), Maryville College (5), and Centenary (6). The Ladies held the number five ranking for five weeks straight in the regular season and dropped to number six one week prior to the tournament announcement. Final rankings will take place following the tournament conclusion.
“I am extremely proud of this team and the grit that they showed all season,” said head coach Kaylee King. “To make it to the national championship tournament in only their second season, says a lot about the drive and determination that they possess. This season has been a roller coaster of not only emotions but physical abilities, and there were times where we had to question whether we would even qualify.”
LACROSSE: The Gents fell27-4 to the Colorado College Tigers in their season finale on Saturday at Washburn Field in Colorado Springs.
The Gents finished with a 10-4 record, their most successful one in program history, while the Tigers improved to 12-2.
Centenary finished as one of the top offensive teams in the country this season with 246 goals, 150 assists, and 396 points as the Maroon and White averaged just under 18 goals per game as six players scored 10+ goals each this season.
Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu