SAN ANTONIO - No. 1 Trinity University Baseball fell in a defensive struggle to Texas Lutheran University, 2-1, in a second midweek non-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup Tuesday night at the Trinity Baseball Field.

All three pitchers utilized by the Tigers (25-5, 12-2 SCAC) in their final home game of the season made their first appearances of the 2021 campaign. Senior right-hander Cash Crane (Jewett, Texas / Leon) received the nod for the start, the sixth of his career, and was followed by a pair of Houston southpaws, first-year Alex Bihn (Westside) and sophomore Cam Sheets (Memorial), in relief.

Trinity mustered just seven hits in the outing, though two more than the Bulldogs (23-10, 13-2 SCAC). Junior shortstop Jack Wisniewski (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) was the lone Tiger to grab a multi-hit game while sophomore leftfielder Brian Schaub (Hatfield, Pa. / La Salle) collected the lone RBI with a sacrifice fly, scoring senior rightfielder Rafe Chaumette (Sugar Land, Texas / Clement), in the first frame.

No. 1 Trinity Baseball will regroup for its final three-game SCAC series of the season, a visit to Southwestern University, on Friday.

The Rundown

Two-thirds of the scoring in Tuesday's contest came in the first five outs. The Bulldogs came out and loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, prompting the visiting shortstop, Joe Jimenez, to collect an RBI with a sacrifice fly into left-center. The bases were reloaded two batters later, prompting Bihn's early appearance from the bullpen.

The Tigers answered immediately. Chaumette led off with an 0-1 knock into right, then hustled first-to-third on the first of Wisniewski's two base-hits to put himself in position for Schaub to send a fly ball far enough into left field to plate the senior outfielder.

Both pitchers settled into the first duel of the evening as Bihn went toe-to-toe with TLU's starter, Jonathan Hampton. The Tiger rookie outlasted Hampton through the fourth-inning mound change on his way to a five-plus inning relief spot.

Trinity's bats pushed the Bulldogs to the bullpen with a brief two-out rally in the fourth. Senior first baseman Michael Goodrich (Gilbert, Ariz. / Basha) sent a rocket through the left side of the infield and was followed by sophomore third baseman MJ Metz (San Diego, Calif. / Canyon Crest) who capitalized on a dropped fly ball in shallow right field. The Tigers could not capitalize with the bases loaded following a walk from first-year catcher Matt McNaney (Albuquerque, N.M. / Albuquerque Academy).

The game-sealing run came in the top of the sixth stanza as TLU's Randy Huerta managed to get a fly ball off of Bihn to carry just over the fence in left field. Bihn stayed on the mound for another four uneventful outs to collect 5.2 innings of work in hist first appearance as a Tiger with seven strikeouts to just four hits and the lone run on his record.

Sheets came on in the seventh and kept the Bulldog bats at bay, though the red-hot Trinity offense as of late slowed to a standstill. The sophomore southpaw recorded 2.2 perfect innings and a pair of strikeouts prior to the conclusion.

Up Next

The top-ranked Trinity baseball team heads to Georgetown, Texas this weekend to conlude the regular-season SCAC schedule with a three-game slate against Southwestern. The Pirates throw the weekend's first pitch Friday at 6 p.m.