San Antonio, Texas – The second-ranked Tiger baseball team swept a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader from 19th-ranked Centenary College on Saturday, winning 9-6 in both games.

Trinity is 25-3 overall and 12-1 in SCAC play following the two victories, while Centenary falls to 28-7 overall and 12-5 in conference. The Tigers rallied from a six-run deficit to take game one, then never trailed in the second game.

Michael Goodrich (Gilbert, Ariz. / Basha) homered in both games and finished with a total of five RBI to lead Trinity's offense. Brandon Hance (Tucson, Ariz. / Salpointe Catholic got the opening win in relief to move to 2-0 this season, while Matthew Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Horizon) locked down his fifth save. Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / Alexander) improved to a team-leading 5-0 on the year with a relief win of his own.

The Rundown: Game 1

Centenary jumped out on front quickly with a three-run first inning that featured a pair of hits, a walk, and a hit batter. After a quiet second inning, the Gents were back at it again with three more runs on four hits to take a 6-0 lead over the Tigers.

Trinity's bats were limited to just one hit over the first four innings, but the fifth inning changed the entire game. The Tigers finished with five runs to snag the momentum from the visitors.  MJ Metz (San Diego, Calif. / Canyon Crest) started the scoring with his RBI single, but it was a pair of two-out hits that really blew the inning open. Jack Wisniewski (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) cracked a two-run double to make it a 6-3 game, then Mason Meredith (Houston, Texas / Memorial) deposited a two-run single into the gap to finish the scoring.

Hance came on in relief in the sixth inning and pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam to keep it a 6-5 game. Goodrich put Trinity in front with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning and the Tigers never trailed again.

In the eighth, Hance erased a leadoff single by Centenary with a double play to set Trinity up for a pair of insurance runs in the bottom half. After two quick outs to start, Goodrich and Metz walked to keep the inning alive. Rafe Chaumette (Sugar Land, Texas / Clements) doubled home the first run of the inning, then the Tigers took advantage of an error to make it nine unanswered runs and a 9-6 lead heading into the ninth.

After a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, Thomas came on for Hance for the save opportunity. Thomas got two quick outs on just four pitches and the Tiger comeback win was complete.

The Rundown: Game 2

Chaumette led off game two with a solo homer in the bottom of the first to put Trinity out in front, but Centenary answered with a run of its own to tie the game in the second.

A pair of costly errors for Centenary put the first two Tiger batters on base in the bottom of the second, and Goodrich made them pay with his second homer of the day to make it a 4-1 Trinity lead.

Brian Schaub (Hatfield, Pa. / La Salle College HS) sparked another three-run inning in the third, taking the first pitch over the wall in left field. Metz and Chaumette drove in runs later in the inning to make it a 7-1 Tiger advantage after three.

A hit batter, a walk, and a single loaded the bases with one out for the Gents in the fifth inning, and the visitors crossed the plate four times to close it to a 7-5 game.

Metz finally got Trinity on the board again with his RBI double in the seventh, then Nathan Braulick (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to make it a 9-5 Tiger lead.

Centenary put the first two batters on base in the ninth, but Ethan Clark (Cypress, Texas / Cy Fair) was able to limit the damage to just one run as Trinity held on to finish off the sweep.

Numbers to Note

Goodrich was 1-3 with a walk in both games, hitting his fourth and fifth homers of the season. He drove in five total RBI in the doubleheader.

Metz tallied four hits overall after going 3-4 in game two. He finished with three runs scored and three RBI on the day.

Schaub hit his team-leading 10th home run of the season in game two.

Chaumette finished 1-2 with a pair of walks in the opener, then went 2-5 with two RBI in game two. He finished with three RBI and two runs scored, hitting his first home run this season.

Tyler Pettit (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) scored twice in each game, collecting three total hits and drawing a pair of walks.

Wisniewski and Meredith had two RBI each in game one, while Jack Vonderhaar (Woodinville, Wash. / Redmond) scored three runs in the two games.

Mark Tindall (Houston, Texas / Lamar) got the starting nod in game two, allowing three earned runs on just two hits over 4.1 innings of work. Chavana spread five hits over 3.2 innings and gave up just one earned run. Both pitchers had a pair of strikeouts in the game.

Game one starter Harrison Durow (Dallas, Texas / Lovejoy) was chased after allowing six runs in two-plus innings. The Tiger bullpen allowed just three hits over the final six frames. Carter Fronk (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) struck out a pair of batters over 2.1 innings of relief. Hance scattered three hits in his 3.1 innings to earn the win, and Thomas finished off the final two outs.

Up Next

Trinity and Centenary will conclude the series with a single SCAC game that is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 25.