CLEBURNE, Texas - No. 2 Trinity University Baseball came one run short of the 2021 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship Sunday evening after splitting matchups with Texas Lutheran University, winning the first 9-8 before dropping the nightcap, 16-15, in the 10th inning. The Tigers (28-7, 12-2 SCAC) posted 24 runs on 36 hits across Sunday's action.

Senior centerfielder Mason Meredith (Houston, Texas / Memorial) marked a five-for-six performance from the plate that included six RBI, three runs scored and a pair of doubles in game two; Meredith added another hit and run scored in Sunday's first contest. Sophomore third baseman MJ Metz (San Diego, Calif. / Canyon Crest) also stayed in stride with a four-for-five output with four runs scored and a RBI.

Senior rightfielder Rafe Chaumette (Sugar Land, Texas / Clement) paced the offense in game one on a four-for-six rate with a pair of runs scored from the leadoff spot. Metz pushed home a team-best three RBI in the first matchup with the Bulldogs, tied with senior designated hitter Michael Goodrich (Gilbert, Ariz. / Basha) who collected his trio of RBI on a home run in the first inning.

Trinity's victorious mound decision was handed to sophomore southpaw Cam Sheets (Houston, Texas / Memorial) after he collected three innings of relief work and a pair of strikeouts for his first pitcher win of the season. First-year right-hander Jack Schmitt (St. Louis, Mo. / Lafayette) tallied his second save of the season with 3.1 scoreless innings-pitched with three strikeouts to just one hit.

No. 2 Trinity Baseball remains idle in anticipation of the NCAA III Baseball selection show in two weeks.

Game One: Trinity 9, Texas Lutheran 8

The Tigers pounced immediately as the visitor on the scoreboard in Sunday's first SCAC Championship contest as they tallied seven of their nine runs in the first frame, all with two outs.

Metz got the momentum started with a double into the right-centerfield gap to score Chaumette and junior shortstop Jack Wisniewski (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian), who reached on a leadoff knock and fielder's choice sacrifice bunt, respectively. Juniors catcher Tyler Pettit (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) and first baseman Jack Vonderhaar (Woodinville, Wash. / Redmond) each notched a RBI with a base-hit into right and a ground-rule double, respectively. Goodrich capped the first-inning melee with his three-run homer to score Vonderhaar and Meredith, who reached on a walk.

The Bulldogs brought themselves back to within two, 8-6, between the second and third frames, chasing Trinity's game two starter junior right-hander Joel Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Horizon) from the mound to be relieved by Sheets, the eventual recipient of the mound decision.

First-year second baseman Ezra Gore (Dallas, Texas / McKinney North) notched the Tigers' eighth score in the midst of the TLU two-inning rally as he scored Goodrich on a knock into right. The game's winning run came on a Metz sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth that scored Chaumette to make the lead 9-6 at the time.

TLU added single marks in the sixth and seventh frames to draw within striking distance, but one more call to the Trinity bullpen brought Schmitt out for a scoreless, one-hit, 10-out save to force Sunday's second outing.

Game Two: Texas Lutheran 16, Trinity 15; 10 innings

Now the home team on the scoreboard, the Tigers set the tone early with another first-inning rally, this time a more modest three-run stretch. Wisniewski notched a two-RBI shot through the right side to score Chaumette and Gore, who led-off with back-to-back singles as well. The Tigers recovered from a bases-clearing double-play in the frame with a Meredith double into straightaway centerfield to score Metz.

The Bulldogs responded decisively with a five-run third stanza to briefly take their first lead of the afternoon. The Tigers' game two starter, sophomore southpaw Garrett Aylor (Austin, Texas / Westlake), went two scoreless with just one hit allowed but was pulled from the mound after the third-inning leadoff walk, the first TLU runner to score in the inning. The bulk of the run came against first-year right-hander Harrison Durow (Dallas, Texas / Lovejoy), the first choice out of the bullpen, before fellow rookie right-hander Hunter Nevilles (Corpus Christi, Texas / Calallen) would take the bump and collect a bases-loaded groundout to third to end the inning.

The Texas Lutheran advantage was short-lived following another three-run Trinity rally in the ensuing half-inning. Meredith opened the rally with a single to left field before Gore took the plate to drive in a pair on a double to left as well for a 6-5 advantage. The back-and-forth affair continued into the fourth as the Bulldogs posted a pair. Back-to-back base hits to lead off the inning prompted another call to the stable as sophomore southpaw Samuel Conte (Boston, Mass. / Phillips) replaced Nevilles though both runners on base at the time managed to score following a sacrifice bunt and an infield fielding error.

Meredith put Trinity back on top again in the fourth with a two-RBI shot up the middle to score Pettit and Metz for his third-straight hit in the contest. The senior centerfielder then scored on a single through the left side by Goodrich for the Tigers' third three-run inning of the game. Another pair of Bulldog runs came in response in the top of the fifth. Yet another bullpen called brought rookie right-hander Ian Swafford (Galveston, Texas / Ball) to the mound and he promptly collected a strikeout and fly out to douse the TLU offense in a 9-9 deadlock.

Sophomore leftfielder Brian Schaub (Hatfield, Pa. / La Salle) finally found his first hit of the day in the fifth frame with a fly ball crushed over the bullpen in right-centerfield, scoring Gore in the process, to conclude three-straight innings in which both teams scored at least two runs and regain the Trinity advantage at 11-9. The Tigers followed the first scoreless inning for the TLU offense since the second with one mark tally in the sixth as Chaumette collected a RBI on a fielder's choice that scored Meredith, who led off the inning with his fourth-straight hit, and second double, of the outing.

With two outs in the seventh Meredith returned to push his line to 5-for-5 with a two-RBI knock up the middle to score Metz and Schaub for a 14-9 margin. Just as it seemed the momentum had taken a significant swing in favor of the Tigers, Texas Lutheran bounced back with a six-run eruption in the top of the eighth, powered in large part by a pair of home runs in the power portion of the Bulldog lineup. Now trailing 15-14, Schaub led the bottom of the ninth with a rocket into center field ruled a three-base error. Metz capitalized with Schaub 90 feet away to log a sacrifice fly and send the game into the 10th inning.

Trinity's bid for the SCAC Championship came up short as a run scored on a throwing miscue in the infield in the top half of the extra frame. Despite this, senior closer Matthew Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Horizon) finished the game with 2.1 innings of work, just the lone unearned run and a pair of hits. The Tigers were unable to respond despite Chaumette reaching on an error with two outs.

Looking Ahead...

No. 2 Trinity Baseball awaits the NCAA's Division III Baseball selection show, streamed live on NCAA.com Sunday, May 23.