By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SHREVEPORT, La. -- The season-opening road trip to Louisiana for the Willamette University baseball team ended on Sunday, Feb. 6, with the Bearcats falling to East Texas Baptist University, 8-0, and losing to Centenary College, 6-2, at Shehee Stadium on the Centenary campus. Earlier on Sunday, East Texas Baptist downed Centenary, 15-0.
Willamette ended the four-game trip with a 2-2 record, while ETBU ended the weekend at 2-1, and Centenary moved to 1-2.
The Bearcats will play four games next weekend at the University of Redlands (Calif.), with one game on Friday, Feb. 11 at 2:30 p.m. (PST), a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 12 starting at 11 a.m., and a single game on Sunday, Feb. 13 beginning at 11 a.m. Willamette's home opener is set for Saturday, Feb. 19 with a Northwest Conference doubleheader against George Fox University at 11 a.m.
Jeff Hoffman (So., 3B, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Grigori HS) of Willamette went 3 for 6 at the plate on Sunday. He was 2 for 3 with a double against East Texas Baptist and went 1 for 3 versus Centenary. Willamette registered five hits during the ETBU game and tacked on three hits against the Gents. Layton Wagner (Jr., RHP/UT, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) belted a double versus ETBU.
The Bearcats walked 15 times -- six against ETBU and nine against Centenary. WU plated the two runners who walked in the third inning of the second game but couldn't turn the other walks into runs.
Willamette's pitching staff continued to pile up strikeouts. Four pitchers combined to strike out 11 batters against the Tigers on Sunday, and three Bearcats produced 14 strikeouts against the Gents. WU pitchers have struck out 50 batters in the first four games. Also on Sunday, ETBU struck out eight WU batters, while Centenary pitchers earned 12 strikeouts.
Hoffman Goes 2 for 3 against the Tigers
East Texas Baptist scored one run in the first inning and four runs in the third to take a 5-0 lead on its way to the 8-0 win. In the first, Jake Miller walked with one out and went to third on a single by Will Kelley. Miller crossed the plate when Christopher Robinson singled through the left side with two outs. The Tigers opened the third stanza with two walks. One out later, Blake Mullen hit an RBI single, leaving runners at first and second. Jase Jones followed with a 3-run homer to left field.
The Tigers added two runs in the fourth and one run in the fifth to complete the scoring. Miller started the fourth inning with a double to left and eventually scored. Kelley batted next and hit a single. He later scored from third on a double-steal. Miller drove in ETBU's final run with a triple to center in the fifth.
Miller was 2 of 3 for the Tigers with a double, a triple, two runs, and one RBI. Jones went 2 for 5 with a home run and a double while scoring twice and earning three RBIs. Hoffman's 2-for-3 performance led the Bearcats. ETBU starting pitcher Jacob Sherman allowed no runs in six innings, while giving up four hits, and five walks. He had four strikeouts. Reliever Trent Clark recorded a save by throwing the final three innings and holding WU to just one hit with four strikeouts. Dawson Enright (Grad., RHP, San Diego, CA/James Madison HS), who started for Willamette, took the loss.
Miller Strikes Out 12 Batters in Six Innings versus Gents
WU starting pitcher, Justin Miller (Sr., RHP, Poway, CA/Poway HS/Palomar CC), struck out 12 batters and did not allow a walk in six innings in the 6-2 loss to Centenary. He gave up three runs and seven hits while falling to 0-1.
The Bearcats grabbed a 2-0 lead against Centenary by scoring twice in the top of the third inning. With one out, Luke Werkmeister-Martin (Jr., 1B, Louisville, CO/Monarch HS) and Hoffman walked. Werkmeister-Martin scored on a single by Samuel Daly (Jr., OF, El Dorado Hills, CA/Jesuit HS) with two outs, and Hoffman reached home on an infield single by Jonny Suchor (Jr., INF, Boulder, CO/Boulder HS). Daly also attempted to score on the play, but was thrown out at the plate.
Centenary scored a run in the bottom of the third and also tallied one run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game. Cole Collins singled and eventually scored in the third, while Austyn Benoit hit a double with one out and later reached home in the fourth. The Gents earned the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, when Luke Royle belted a triple to right field with one out and Cade LaBruyere registered an RBI single with two outs.
Benoit and Royle each provided Centenary with an RBI single in the seventh, and Brady Robinson connected for an RBI double in the eighth. The Gents finished with 11 hits.
Royle was 2 for 3 with a triple, one run, and one RBI. Benoit went 2 for 4 with a double, a run, and an RBI, while Preston Ludwick was 2 of 5 with a run scored. For Willamette, Daly, Hoffman, and Suchor each achieved one hit. Ludwick, who started on the mound for Centenary, tossed five innings and struck out five batters. He allowed two runs, two hits, and six walks. Reliever Tyler Herrera pitched three scoreless innings with a total of six strikeouts for the win.
