SAN ANTONIO – The 24th-ranked Trinity baseball team suffered a narrow 4-3 loss in a midweek non-conference home game against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday night.
The Tigers erased a two-run lead midway through the game, only to fall behind 4-2 in the next half-inning. Trinity got within a run in the eighth, but the comeback bid ultimately fell short. The Tigers wound up with 14 runners left on base in the game, drawing nine walks to go with seven hits, but managing just three runs scored.
Hunter Nevilles (Corpus Christi, Texas / Calallen) led Trinity with a 4-for-4 performance that included a double and two RBI.
Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) also had a double and scored two of Trinity's three runs on the night.
Jack Briese (Danville, Ky. / Boyle County) (0-1) suffered the loss in relief, allowing two runs on three hits over three innings pitched, and recording three strikeouts. Starter
Luke Pfeiffer (Valencia, Calif. / Trinity Classical Academy) tossed 3.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits, though he led the Tiger staff with five strikeouts on the night.
Trinity resumes Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, opening a three-game series at home against Centenary College (La.) on Friday night.
The Rundown
Pfeiffer stranded two runners in the top of the first to keep UMHB off the board early, then Nevilles bounced a ground-rule double over the fence down the right field line with one out in the bottom of the inning. The Cru got the next two outs, though, and kept the game scoreless early on.
Trinity loaded the bases with one out in the third, but an inning-ending double play stole the momentum away from the Tigers and UMHB took advantage in the top of the fourth. The visitors plated a pair of runs on three hits in the inning to take a 2-0 lead midway through the game.
Another double play derailed the Tiger offense in the fifth and the game remained 2-0 heading into the sixth. Trinity finally got a rally started in the fifth, taking advantage of three walks, a single, and a wild pitch to make it a 2-1 game. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers got the offense revved up again. A pair of hit batters led to a run-scoring single by Nevilles to make it a 2-2 game, though Trinity wound up leaving the bases loaded instead of taking the lead.
Mary Hardin-Baylor answered immediately in the top of the seventh, putting together two hits and a couple of walks to regain its lead at 4-2. The tying run came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the inning, but it remained a two-run advantage for the visitors.
Peterson led off the eighth with a double off the wall in right field, then scored on a sac fly by Nevilles after stealing third base. A walk and a hit followed the sac fly that made it a 4-3 game, then a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position. UMHB got a strikeout to end the threat, though, clinging to the one-run lead heading into the final inning.
Unfortunately, Trinity was unable to complete the comeback. The only inning that the Tigers didn't put any runners on base was the ninth, as UMHB retired three straight batters to close out the game and escape with the win.
Up Next
Trinity and Centenary open up their SCAC weekend series on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. The teams will then play a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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