LSUS Baseball Beats Centenary in Cross-town Rivalry
The LSUS Pilots defeated Centenary Tuesday night in battle of cross-town rivals.
SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots picked up eighth consecutive victory on Tuesday evening at Pilots Field as they took down their cross-town rival Centenary Gents by a final score of 9-3 at Pilots Field. The Pilots are now 2-0 versus Centenary on the season.
Reed Lavallee was a big part of the win for the Pilots as he helped out both with his bat and arm. Lavallee was 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs batted in on a single that sparked a five-run third inning. Defensively he threw out three runners attempting to steal nailing a runner in the second, fourth, and fifth innings.
David Diaz also had a pair of hits and rbis for the Pilots going 2-for-4 at the plate while Kade Billeaudeaux is starting to come out of his slump after picking up a pair of hits going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Cam Ellis (2-0) picked up the win for the Pilots on a predetermined pitch count. He tossed four shutout innings allowing just three hits while striking out three in his walk free performance. The back end of the bullpen tossed two scoreless innings with Brandon Texiera tossing an inning and 1/3 allowing one hit, one walk and striking out one while Ian Ham struck out two of the three batters he retired in the ninth to seal the deal.
"This was a good win for our program and fans. We got a great effort tonight by Ellis in his spot start," said LSUS head Coach Al Cantwell. The Pilots moved up to no. 9 in today's release of the NAIA's top 25 poll.
The now no. 9 Pilots (27-7) added four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as they took advantage of a Centenary error and three walks. Kym Barthel brought in a run with a bases loaded walk and David Diaz drove in a run with a single to center following a sac-fly from Ridge Gonsoulin.
The Gents (12-13) scored a run in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh before being shut down the rest of the way by the Pilots pen.
Tonight's win will give the Pilots some momentum as they head into a three-game series with no. 23 LSU Alexandria for Alumni Weekend at Pilots Field. The series will begin on Friday night at 6 p.m. and conclude on Saturday at 1 with a doubleheader. "I am excited about seeing a lot of our former players in town this weekend," ended Coach Cantwell.
More From 1130 The Tiger
