Feb. 24, 2008

Box Score

SHREVEPORT, La. -

            The University of Northern Iowa baseball team fell 4-3 to Centenary in the series finale Sunday afternoon. The Gents went up 3-0 after the first two innings, and the Panthers (1-3) were never able to catch up.

            Cameron Penny was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the first. He stole second and moved to third on a fielder's choice. Steele Lewis singled to send Penny home and give the Gents (3-1) a 1-0 lead.

            Teddy Saenz led off the bottom of the second with a single, and Calvin Sanchez followed him with a two-run home run that gave the Gents a 3-0 advantage.

            Brandon Douglas hit a one-out single in the top of the fourth. He stole second and moved to third on an error. Chris Lopez doubled to score Douglas and put the Panthers on the board, 3-1.

            Tim Deering led off the bottom of the fifth with a single. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and then scored on a deep single from Penny to give the Gents a 4-1 lead.

            The Panthers responded in the top of the sixth, when Matt Davis hit a one out single, then moved to third on a double from Douglas. Davis scored on a ground out from Brett Douglas to bring the score to 4-2.

            Dane Embury led off the top of the seventh with a double, and he moved to third on a single from Eddie Almonte. Travis Hendrix laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Embury and pull the Panthers within a run, 4-3. Centenary shortstop Ricky Imperiali was able to catch a line drive off the bat of Levi Ferguson, and he completed the unassisted double play to end the inning. The Panthers did not have a batter reach base in the eighth or ninth innings to end the game.

            Brandon Douglas was 3-of-4 with a double and a run scored, and Lopez was 1-of-3 with a double and an RBI.

            Shuhei Fujiya (0-1) was charged with the loss for the Panthers, while Johnny Noland (1-0) earned the save for Centenary.

The Panthers return to action on Thursday when they open a four-game series at Arkansas-Little Rock.