SAN ANTONIO - No. 15 Trinity University Baseball posted an eight-run first inning in Saturday's second game of the weekend trio against Babson College (MA) to even the series up with one game apiece.

The Tigers (3-2) were powered offensively by junior centerfielder Ezra Gore (Dallas, Texas / McKinney North) as he posted a career-high five RBI via three hits, two doubles, to go with a pair of walks from the clean-up spot in the lineup.

Reigning SCAC Pitcher of the Week sophomore righthander Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / J.B. Alexander) took the mound in early relief for six-and-a-third innings of work where he collected four strikeouts to six hits and three earned runs to manage a lead of five runs or more in his time on the hill.

Senior righthanded reliever Joel Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Horizon) notched his first save of the season as he finally reigned in the ninth-inning Babson rally with the final out, his second strikeout of the season in two appearances.

No. 15 Trinity Baseball concludes the weekend slate with the Beavers Sunday, scheduled for a 10 a.m. CT first pitch.

The Rundown

Sophomore righty Harrison Durow (Dallas, Texas / Lovejoy) notched his second start on the mound this season but a short leash was kept early on for the Trinity staff as he allowed one run in each of the first two frames before getting pulled. The significant delay between innings for the second-year Tiger caused by the eight-run start in the February cold may have also been to blame.

No outs were recorded during Trinity's eight tallies in the first stanza. A lead-off knock and back-to-back walks left the bases loaded for Gore to pounce on his clean-up role with a double in the left-centerfield gap for three of his five RBI in Saturday's outing. Gore was scored on the very next pitch by first-year catcher Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit Prep) as he sent a shot up the middle.

The Tiger bats continued to roar with three-straight station-to-station plate appearances. Both junior designated hitter Evan McDonald (Pflugerville, Texas / Pflugerville) and sophomore shortstop Jack Baker (Sugar Land, Texas / Ridge Point), in his second trip to the plate that inning notched RBI knocks.

Sandwiched between the McDonald and Baker RBI was the first RBI of first-year rightfielder Trea Verver's (Cedar Park, Texas / Cedar Park) collegiate career on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. The Tiger rookie finished the game being struck three times at the plate, in his first three plate appearances. Junior corner infielder MJ Metz (San Diego, Calif. / Canyon Crest) rounded out the barrage with a sac fly deep to centerfield to score McDonald.

Baker added a ninth score in the second frame for a 9-2 advantage on an RBI groundout with the bases loaded which scored junior leftfielder Brian Schaub (Hatfield, Pa. / La Salle) for the second time. The Beavers responded as they snuck a pair past Chavana in the top of the third, the second of which unearned following a Trinity throwing error in the infield.

Gore's second double and fourth RBI came in the fifth after back-to-back base hits from Metz and sophomore second baseman Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) to lead off the inning, leading to an 11-5 tally through five.

Chavana coasted through a pair of clean innings in the sixth and seventh until a Babson sac fly in the eighth represented the final mark on the sophomore's line. The final RBI for Gore came in response in the bottom of the inning with Baker sitting on second as the mid-lineup spark plug smacked his third hit through the middle.

A pair of Tiger relievers were blindsided by the Beavers' five-run ninth-inning comeback attempt before the Trinity bullpen settled on Thomas to record his first save of the season, though a pair of inherited runners were scored on Thomas's lone hit allowed before his three-pitch punchout shut the door on Babson.

Up Next

No. 15 Trinity Baseball rounds out the three-game series with Babson College Sunday morning. The Tigers will then host No. 6 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for four games starting with a single game Thursday at 7 p.m.