SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University baseball team is heading into the final month of the regular season and will host Centenary College (La.) for a key Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series this weekend.

The Tigers are 13-9 overall and 4-2 in SCAC play heading into this week's contests, which ties them with Centenary for second place, and also trails Southwestern University by a game after the first two weekends of conference action. Trinity swept Austin College to start league play, then lost the first two games of last weekend's series at Texas Lutheran University before winning game three to avoid the sweep. Sunday's win in the series finale snapped a three-game losing streak for the Tigers, who also lost to McMurry earlier in the week. Trinity also suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to University of Mary Hardin-Baylor to start this week's action.

Senior catcher Tyler Pettit (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) had a strong series against the Bulldogs, finishing 7-of-12 (.583) at the plate with three runs scored and four RBI. After missing the first several games of the season, Pettit is hitting .371 (13-for-35) over his 10 games this season, picking up six RBI and eight runs scored. Senior outfielder Ezra Gore (Dallas, Texas / McKinney North) leads Trinity with a .338 batting average (23-for-68), while also leading the team with six doubles, 18 runs scored, and 15 RBI. His 12 steals are second only to junior outfielder Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) and his 16 steals. Peterson is also hitting .311 (19-for-61) with 14 runs scored and has drawn 13 walks for a team-best .429 on-base percentage.

Trinity's pitching staff is led by a trio of starters and two mainstays in the bullpen. Sophomore transfer Jackson Teer (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) threw a no-hitter against Austin College and is now 4-1 with a 3.44 ERA. Junior Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / Alexander) is second on the staff with 36 strikeouts in 36.1 innings, posting a 2.72 ERA, and holding opponents to a .180 batting average. Junior Cade McGahan (Davidson, N.C. / Hough) has a team-low 1.45 ERA in his six appearances, allowing just five earned runs over 31 innings. Junior reliever Harrison Durow (Dallas, Texas / Lovejoy) and sophomore reliever Jack Martinez (Corpus Christi, Texas / Ray) both have ERAs under 3.00 and are a combined 4-1 with seven appearances each. Martinez leads the team with 37 strikeouts in just 19.2 innings, while Durow has 34 in 20.2 innings, and both are holding teams to a batting average of .211 or less.

NCAA III Rankings: D3baseball.com
Trinity remains nationally ranked this season, though the Tigers did slip to 24th in the latest D3baseball.com poll. Birmingham-Southern College remains the top-ranked team in the nation, while the only other Region 10 team in the top 25 is Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at No. 23.

On Deck: Centenary (Mar. 31-Apr.1)
Trinity holds a 31-21 record in the series against Centenary, which dates back to the 2007 season. The Tigers are 13-7 in home games against the Gents and 17-12 in SCAC contests. Last season, Trinity won two out of three road games during the regular season in 2022, though Centenary won twice during last year's SCAC Tournament. The last home series between the two teams was in 2021, with Trinity also taking two out of three games. The last time either team swept the regular season series was when Trinity won all three meetings in 2016.

Centenary is 12-6 on the year heading into this week and tied for second place in the SCAC standings with a 4-2 record to match Trinity. The Gents are hitting .301 as a team this year, headlined by four starters hitting .344 or higher. First-year Carson Livesay leads the team with a .388 batting average and 19 runs scored, while tying for the team lead with 13 RBI. Fellow first-year Lenny Forth is hitting .344 with 14 runs scored and 11 RBI. Juniors Jobee Boone and Austyn Benoit round out the team's top offensive producers. Boone is hitting .87 with 15 runs scored and 11 RBI, while Benoit is tied for the team lead with 13 RBI to go with his 12 runs scored and .364 average.

The Gents pitching staff is led by a trio of arms that are huge reasons that the team ERA is under 3.00 this season. First-year Aidan Reichek is 1-0 with a team-best 1.25 ERA, collecting 19 strikeouts in his 21.2 innings. Senior Parker Primeaux is a two-time First Team All-SCAC selection who holds a 1.97 ERA and has recorded 32 strikeouts in 32 innings this year. Sophomore Tyler Herrera is the reigning SCAC Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year and is leading the team with 35 strikeouts in 32.2 innings this season.

In the Hole: Dallas (Apr. 7-8)
Trinity will hit the road next weekend for another three-game SCAC series, facing off against the University of Dallas on Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8. The series begins with an afternoon doubleheader on Good Friday that begins at 1:00 p.m. Saturday's series finale is set for a Noon first pitch. The Tigers swept last year's series at home, winning by an average of 10 runs/game.