AUSTIN – The 22nd-ranked Trinity baseball team finished off its fifth straight road game with a 15-5 victory over Concordia University (TX) on Tuesday night.

The Tigers improved to 13-7 with the win, which is the third victory in the last four meetings with Concordia. Trinity is 16-13 against the Tornados since the 2001 season and the 15 runs scored by Trinity is the most by either team in the 29 meetings.

Trinity's offense used a pair of big innings to keep the game out of reach Tuesday night, scoring six times in the fourth to take the lead for good, and using a seven-run eighth to put the game out of reach late.

Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and was one of five Tiger players with two or more hits in the game. Michael Montrezza (Los Gatos, Calif. / Leigh) had a pair of hits and led the team with four RBI on the night. Cade McGahan (Davidson, N.C. / Hough) earned the win for his first decision of the season, while Harrison Durow (Dallas, Texas / Lovejoy) notched his first save of the year with three innings in relief to close out the game.

The Tigers will return home for a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series with the University of Dallas this weekend. That series begins with a Saturday doubleheader at 1:00 p.m., followed by a Sunday afternoon series finale that also starts at 1:00 p.m.

The Rundown

Concordia made a bid to take the early lead in the bottom of the first, but Trinity threw out a runner at home to keep the game scoreless after one inning. The Tornados were determined, though, and scored in the second inning with a couple of singles and a ground out to take the early 1-0 lead.

Lazzara opened up the third inning with a leadoff triple and was able to tie the game on a ground ball to second as Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) picked up the RBI. Lazzara's hit was the first of the game for Trinity's offense, which was just getting warmed up as it turned out.

The Tigers took their first lead of the game in the fourth, piling on six total runs on seven hits to turn the game in their favor. Ezra Gore (Dallas, Texas / McKinney North) began the inning with a leadoff double, then Jack Wisniewski (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) drove him home two batters later for the go-ahead RBI. Jack Vonderhaar (Woodinville, Wash. / Redmond) drove in a pair of runs with a single to right field that prompted a pitching change by the home team.

Trinity's offense kept rolling against the new hurler for Concordia as Lazzara nabbed his second hit of the day and Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) drove in a run with a single to center that put the Tigers in front 5-1. After a strikeout slowed the hit parade, Montrezza delivered a two-out single that brought in two more runners that proved to be the final runs of the inning for a 7-1 Trinity lead.

Concordia chipped away with an unearned run in the fifth, taking advantage of a Trinity error to put the score at 7-2, but Harris picked up his second RBI of the night in the sixth to get the run back and put the lead back to six. Brian Schaub (Hatfield, Pa. / La Salle College HS) and Vonderhaar led off the inning with back-to-back hits, then moved up on a sacrifice bunt to set up the scoring opportunity for Harris.

McGahan struck out the side in the sixth for his final strikeouts of the evening and was chased from the game in the seventh as Concordia attempted to rally once again. The Tornados were able to score three times on three hits in the inning to cut the lead in half, but Durow got a strikeout with the bases loaded to minimize the damage.

Trinity's offense responded with its best inning of the night to shut down any ideas of a comeback, scoring seven runs to take a 15-5 lead. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the inning, then Peterson doubled to bring in the first two runs. Montrezza had another two-run single to make it 12-5, then a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases up again for Wisniewski. He delivered a single to right field for two more scores and Schaub grounded into a fielder's choice to bring in what would be the final run of the night to make it 15-5.

Durow struck out the side in the eighth, then struck out the final two batters of the game to shut the door and earn the save in the process.

Numbers to Note

Wisniewski was 2-for-5 with three RBI in the game, which now gives him 101 RBI in his career. He also needs just one more run to reach the century mark for a career in that category as well.

McGahan tied his career-high with seven strikeouts in the game, marking his fourth career game to reach that total. Durow finished with six strikeouts in the final three innings, which gives the Trinity pitching staff its 12th game this season with double-digit strikeouts.

Vonderhaar finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Schaub also had two hits and two runs scored in the game.

Harris had two RBI and two runs scored, while Gore also scored twice. Peterson notched three RBI in the game and reached base three times in five plate appearances.

Up Next

Trinity will host the University of Dallas in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader in SCAC play, beginning at 1:00 p.m.