Centre athletics photo by CARPE-IMAGO

DANVILLE, Ky. - In a season that has seen Centre baseball make history and rewrite the program record books over and over, another milestone was hit today as the Colonels walked off for a 3-2 win over Hendrix to win the SAA Tournament for the first time, securing an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

- The early stages of the game belonged to the visiting Warriors, who had just defeated Rhodes 14-0 in an elimination game earlier in the day. Hendrix scored a run in each of the first two innings, both coming on two-out hits.
- Offensively, the Colonels struggled early on as a double by Aaron Lopez represented Centre's only hit through the first five innings. Harrison Cowdrey settled in after giving up two early runs and kept the game within reach.
- Karson Thompson started off the bottom of the sixth with a bang as he lifted a high fly ball that carried with the wind and landed on the other side of the big wall in left field for a solo homer, cutting the deficit in half at 2-1.
- The rally for the Colonels continued as Josh Cunningham ripped a double down the line and advanced to third after a fly ball. With runners on the corners, Ayden Lohr hit a blooper that fell for a base hit, scoring Cunningham and tying the game.
- As Cowdrey continued to get the Warriors out, the Colonels had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth as they loaded the bases with two outs, but Hendrix escaped the jam. Cowdrey pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, taking care of two groundouts himself with a strikeout in between, setting the stage for the ninth with the score still tied at 2-2.
- Jamie Laframboise led off the bottom of the ninth and deposited the third pitch he saw over the left field wall to wrap up Centre's first conference tournament title in the most dramatic fashion possible.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- In another postseason game where hits were hard to come by for both teams, Cunningham and Lopez each led the Colonels with two hits each.
- The biggest hit of Laframboise's career was the second homer of the season for the senior third baseman, his first since the Mar. 29 victory against Birmingham-Southern.
- Cowdrey was unbelievable after falling behind 2-0, going the distance while not allowing a hit after the sixth inning or a runner in scoring position after the fourth. His 132 pitches were the most in a game by a Centre player this season and he added eight strikeouts as well.

SAA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Josh Cunningham
Jamie Laframboise
Aaron Lopez
Harrison Cowdrey - Tournament Most Outstanding Player

NEXT UP

The field for the NCAA Tournament will be announced on May 16.