Austin, Texas – The second-ranked Tiger baseball team split a road doubleheader at Concordia (TX) University on Tuesday evening, winning 9-0 after being edged 4-3 in the opener.

Trinity is now 20-3 this season after splitting the twinbill, while Concordia is now 12-8 on the year. The Tornados rallied for runs in the sixth and seventh to slip past the Tigers in the opener that went just seven innings. Three Tiger pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout in game two.

Samuel Conte (Boston, Mass. / Phillips Academy) went six innings and got his first decision of the season with the game two victory, while Jack Schmitt (St. Louis, Mo. / Lafayette) and Joel Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Horizon) gave up just one hit over the final three innings to preserve the shutout.

The Rundown: Game 1

The Tigers opened up the game with two runs in the top of the first, taking advantage of a pair of walks and a passed ball to take a 2-0 lead. Concordia quickly tied things up in the bottom of the inning with two runs of its own.

Mason Meredith (Houston, Texas / Memorial) put Trinity back in front with his RBI triple with two outs in the third, but it would prove to be the final score of the game for the Tigers. Trinity left runners on base in all but one inning of the game, setting up a comeback win for Concordia.

The Tornados took advantage of two Tiger errors in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3, then scored again in the bottom of the seventh to win it. Trinity reliever Ethan Clark (Cypress, Texas / Cy Fair) struck out the first two batters in the seventh, but a walk, a stolen base, and a run-scoring single closed the book on game one.

The Rundown: Game 2

After starting with two scoreless innings in game two, Trinity got on the board with a two-run single from Meredith. That proved to be more than enough for Conte, who allowed just two hits over six innings of work.

The Trinity defense, which gave up the lead with two errors in game one, redeemed itself with three double plays in the first five innings to support their starter.

Rafe Chaumette (Sugar Land, Texas / Clements) drove home another Trinity run in the fifth to make it 3-0, then the offense blew the game open with a four-run sixth inning. The Tigers had just two hits in the inning, but also benefitted from four walks and a wild pitch, taking a 7-0 lead. Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) struck the biggest blow with his three-run double down the left field line. First-year Matt McNaney (Albuquerque, N.M. / Albuquerque Academy) also collected his first career RBI in the inning.

Chaumette capped the scoring by accounting for two more runs in the eighth. He drove in McNaney with a triple, then scored on an error to make it 9-0 Tigers.

Numbers to Note

Conte struck out six batters over his six-inning outing in the finale, while Schmitt and Thomas combined to strike out five more batters over the final three innings.

Meredith had two hits in each game, driving in three total runs and stealing two bases in the second game.

Chaumette had two triples in the second game to tie a Trinity school record for the second time in his career. Chaumette came into the season as the Tiger career leader with 14 total triples. The record of two triples has been achieved 10 times, but Chaumette is the first to do so twice. He went 3-5 with a run and two RBI in the game.

Colt Harris had two hits and three RBI in the finale, while McNaney had two hits and scored three runs.

MJ Metz (San Diego, Calif. / Canyon Crest) drew two walks and scored a pair of runs in game one.

Ethan Clark (Cypress, Texas / Cy Fair) suffered the game one loss and is now 2-1 this season. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits over his 2.1 innings in relief, recording a pair of strikeouts. Mark Tindall (Houston, Texas / Lamar) struck out five over 4.1 innings to start the game, yielding two runs on three hits.

Up Next

Trinity will resume Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend in Irving, Texas. The three-game series with the University of Dallas begins with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday, April 17.