BELTON, Texas – The 16th-ranked Tiger baseball team had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 9-12 road loss to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday night. Trinity fell to 10-6 on the season with the defeat, while the Crusaders improved to 10-9 overall with the win.

It was a back-and-forth game all night, but Mary Hardin-Baylor scored nine of its 12 runs in the last three frames to pull away from the Tigers. After falling behind for the first time all night in the seventh, Trinity rallied to tie things up in the eighth, but UMHB scored three times in the bottom of the inning to take the win.

Nathan Braulick (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI in the game, as well as recording three stolen bases. Tanner Haney (Waco, Texas / Waco) also picked up three hits and scored two runs for the Tigers.

Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / J.B. Alexander) took the loss on the mound for Trinity, falling to 3-1 this season. Cade McGahan (Davidson, N.C. / Hough) got his first start of the season, striking out six batters in 5.1 innings of work.

Trinity will resume conference play on the road this weekend, facing off against Centenary College for a three-game series in Shreveport, La.

The Rundown

Trinity got the offense started right away, scoring twice in the top of the first inning to take the early lead. Following a leadoff single for Haney, the next two batters walked to lead the bases. MJ Metz (San Diego, Calif. / Canyon Crest Academy) drove in the first run of the game after reaching on a fielder's choice, then Braulick doubled in a run to make it 2-0. Not to be outdone, UMHB answered with two runs of its own by taking advantage of a Tiger error and tying the game 2-2.

The Tigers answered quickly in the top of the second as Tyler Pettit (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) started the inning with a leadoff single and came around to score on a two-out hit by Haney. Ty Preston (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) followed with a hit of his own, but the Crusaders were able to escape with no more damage by throwing out Haney at the plate to end the inning.

Both teams were able to put runners on base in the third and Mary Hardin-Baylor had a one-out hit in the fourth, but the score remained 3-2 in favor of the Tigers until the fifth inning. Preston got the inning started with a hit, followed by Jack Wisniewski (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) reaching on a walk. After Braulick was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Brian Schaub (Hatfield, Pa. / Las Salle College HS) and Pettit drew back-to-back walks to score two runs to give Trinity a 5-2 lead.

After Mary Hardin-Baylor notched a two-out hit in the bottom of the fifth that brought them within two runs, Trinity got right back in the scoring column in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead. Haney was once again the spark, beginning the inning with a leadoff double down the third base line. Wisniewski drove in Haney with a groundout to short. The Crusaders chased McGahan from the game early in the sixth and scored a pair of runs to make it a 6-5 game.

Trinity nearly blew the game open in the seventh, loading the bases with the first three hitters of the inning. Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) ended up driving in the only run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to right field. Schaub was called out at home after trying to score on a wild pitch and the inning ended with Trinity clinging to a 7-5 lead.

The persistence by Mary Hardin-Baylor finally paid off in the seventh as the home team took its first lead of the night with four runs on four hits, three walks, and two Trinity errors to pull in front 9-7. Chavana came on in relief late in the inning and shut the door by getting the final two outs – including a strikeout with the bases loaded to keep it to just a two-run deficit.

The Tigers opened the eighth inning with a pair of walks by Preston and Wisniewski, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Metz to put the tying run in scoring position. Braulick delivered in the clutch as he laced a single to right that tied the game 9-9. UMHB then got a pair of strikeouts to limit the damage, which turned out to be key as the Crusaders reclaimed the lead with three runs on four hits and an error to take a 12-9 lead into the ninth.

Trinity got a leadoff single from Korson Hastings (San Antonio, Texas / Churchill) to start the ninth, but the Crusaders got the next three batters out to end any hopes of one more rally by the visitors.

Numbers to Note

Trinity falls to 28-10 against Mary Hardin-Baylor (1992-present) and had its six-game winning streak in the series snapped with the loss.

Preston joined Haney and Braulick as the only players with a multi-hit game tonight, finishing 2-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored.

Wisniewski drew three walks, while Schaub and Pettit matched Preston with a pair of free passes in the game.

Up Next

The Tigers will open up a three game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series at Centenary College in Shreveport, La., on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader against the Gents will begin at 1:00 p.m.