San Antonio – The 21st-ranked Tiger baseball team opened up a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend series against the University of St. Thomas with a 5-0 shutout victory on Friday night.

Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / J.B. Alexander) notched his second straight complete-game shutout to improve to 5-1 this season. Chavana tossed a two-hitter a career-best nine-inning outing, striking out six batters.

Brian Schaub (Hatfield, Pa. / La Salle College HS) picked up two of Trinity's five hits on the night, including a two-run homer in the sixth that put the Tigers in front 4-0 at the time. Schaub was 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Trinity and St. Thomas finish up the series with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader that begins at 2:00 p.m. The Tigers remain at home for a non-conference game on Tuesday against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The Rundown

Trinity got the scoring started before getting a hit in the game, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Schaub reached after getting hit by a pitch, moved to second on a groundout to second, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. The St. Thomas catcher tried to get Schaub at third, but the throw sailed into left field, and Schaub scored easily.

Chavana gave up a hit in the first and a hit in the eighth, then also pitched around some walks to keep St. Thomas off the board. He also got help from his defense as the Tigers turned a pair of double plays.

A leadoff walk to Nathan Braulick (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) and a sharp single through the right side of the infield by Ezra Gore (Dallas, Texas / McKinney North) got the sixth inning started for the Tigers. Both players moved up on a wild pitch, setting up Jack Wisniewski (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) for a sacrifice fly to left to make it a 2-0 game. Schaub then hit a towering home run over the scoreboard in left-center to double the lead.

One of Trinity's two double plays ended the seventh, then Michael Montrezza (Los Gatos, Calif. / Leigh) threw out a runner at third on a nice backhand pickup to erase a leadoff double by St. Thomas in the eighth. In the previous inning, Montrezza drew a one-out walk and came around to eventually score on a wild pitch that gave Chavana another insurance run for the final two innings. Chavana retired the last five batters in order to close out the win.

Numbers to Note

Trinity and St. Thomas have met just four times during the SCAC era (since 1991) – all of which have come since last year. The Tigers have won all four meetings, though today marked the first shutout in the series.

The Tigers improved to 18-7 overall and 9-1 in conference play this season, which ties the team atop the SCAC standings.

Over his last two outings – both complete-game shutouts – Chavana has recorded 16 strikeouts in 16 innings of work, giving up just four total hits. He has now won 10 games in his career, improving to 10-1 over the past two seasons.

Schaub's team-leading sixth home run of the season is also the 20th since joining the Tigers last year. That ties him for 13th on Trinity's career list, though Schaub also hit six homers prior to coming to Trinity to give him a total of 26.

Gore's single in the sixth extended his hitting streak to 14 games, which is the longest by a Tiger player this season.

Up Next

Trinity will host St. Thomas in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at 2:00 p.m. to finish off the weekend series.