Conway, Ark. - Hendrix fell in Saturday's decisive rubber match to Centre 10-9 to lose their final regular season series.
Game 1 (W, 8-7)
Hendrix put together some late-game theatrics, highlighted by a
Shaun Pope ninth-inning walk-off double, to win the series opener on Friday afternoon.
Braxton Waller (W, 4-3) was the pitcher of record after entering in the eighth inning and allowing just one unearned run on two hits in 2.0 innings of relief work.
After the Colonels opened the scoring in the first inning, Hendrix tied the game in the second inning on a
Nick Echaniz two-out RBI double to score
Joseph Watts. Centre pieced together four runs across the fourth and fifth innings to take a 5-1 lead before
Drake Job singled in
Owen Shaw in the home half of the fifth to trim the deficit to three.
The Colonels added two more runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 7-2 lead, but Hendrix's offense broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth.
Griffin Baird led off the inning with a single up the middle, and was pinch-ran for by
Zylan Brown.
Charlie Deaton walked to put two on the bases for
Hogan Ralston, who brought in Brown with a single to right center field.
Ian Guthrie then scored
Charlie Deaton with a single to score Deaton.
Austin Rabago laid down a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Ralston and Guthrie came around to score to make it 7-6, and
Drake Job's RBI ground out to second base scored the tying run to take a 7-7 game into the ninth.
Waller worked around a one-out single to retire the side in the top of the inning to turn it back over to the Warrior bats.
Zylan Brown led off the inning with a single up the middle, and made it into scoring position on a Deaton sacrifice bunt.
Shaun Pope then stepped into the box for his first at-bat after subbing in for
Zane Nolan, and promptly ended the game with a base hit to right field to bring in the winning run.
Game 2 (L, 10-6)
The Colonels scored six runs across the first two innings of the game before Hendrix finally got on the board with a three-spot in the fourth inning.
Owen Shaw led off the inning with a single to left field, stole second, and was brought in by a
Joseph Watts double to right center field. Watts then scored on an
Ian Guthrie single, and Guthrie eventually touched home on a
Nick Echaniz RBI fielder's choice.
Drake Job's RBI double in the fifth inning scored
Shaun Pope from second to make it 6-4, but the Colonels fired back with four runs in the sixth to take a commanding 10-4 lead.
Pope scored Ralston on a bases-loaded RBI fielder's choice in the sixth, and
Austin Rabago followed that up with a sacrifice fly to left to score
Jacob Carpentier and make it 10-6.
Hendrix loaded the bases in the seventh inning with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate, but the side was retired to end the game and tie up the series.
Game 3 (L, 10-9)
Centre plated two runs in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead, but Hendrix responded with a five-spot in the Warrior second, beginning with a
Nick Echaniz bases-loaded, two-RBI double down the left field line to score
Joseph Watts and
Charlie Deaton.
Hogan Ralston was brought in on a
Shaun Pope fielder's choice, and Echaniz then scored on an
Owen Shaw single. Job scored the final run of the inning when
Ian Guthrie singled up the middle.
Joseph Watts led off the third inning with a walk and scored from second on a
Hogan Ralston single. The Colonels got a run back on a lead-off solo shot in the fourth, but Hendrix added two more runs in the fifth to take an 8-3 lead. Centre scored three runs over the next three innings before putting up a four-spot in the ninth to take a 10-8 lead.
Hogan Ralston worked a two-out walk in the home half of the ninth, and the Warriors put two in scoring in position for Pope. Pope grounded over to the second baseman to score the ninth run, but the tying run was thrown out 4-2 at home plate to end the game.
