SAN ANTONIO – The 19th-ranked Trinity baseball team split a Friday doubleheader with #22 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, battling for an 8-7 win after suffering a 21-2 loss to start the day.
The Tigers (4-2) were held to just two runs on seven hits in the opening game, which saw Whitewater blow open the game with six runs in the fifth inning, and then poured in 10 more scores over the final four innings to cruise to the win.
Game two was easily the most competitive of the series as Trinity matched the early scoring output by UWW with three RBI from
Cristian Holloway (Brownsville, Texas / Veterans Memorial). The Warhawks took a narrow 4-3 lead with a run in the fourth, then had the Tigers doubled up with two more scores in the seventh. Instead of pulling away as they had the first two games, Whitewater watched as Trinity rallied with a five-run seventh to take an 8-6 lead.
Pierce Matthews (Carrollton, Texas / Hebron) crushed a go-ahead grand slam to do most of the damage, then
Korson Hastings (San Antonio, Texas / Churchill) doubled in an extra run later in the game that wound up being the difference.
Will Hellings (Summit, N.J. / Summit) picked up his first collegiate win in the second game, pitching the final 3.2 innings of the game in relief of starter
Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / Alexander). The duo combined for nine strikeouts and each allowed three earned runs.
Luke Pfeiffer (Valencia, Calif. / Trinity Classical Academy) fell to 0-1 after taking the game one loss, giving up five runs over the first two innings.
Jonathan Newman (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) threw two scoreless innings in relief in game one, but five more relievers gave up 16 runs after he departed in the fourth inning.
Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) was the only Trinity hitter with more than one hit in the first game, going 2-for-2 with a run scored. Holloway and
Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) drove in the only Tiger runs of the opener.
Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) and
Jack Baker (Sugar Land, Texas / Ridge Point) both finished with two hits in the second game, while Matthews and Holloway joined their teammates with multi-hit games and also combined for seven RBI. Hastings went 2-for-3 for the day, including his game-winning RBI in game two.
The Rundown (Game 1)
Whitewater started the doubleheader with three runs on three hits and three walks in the top of the first, jumping out in front of Trinity for the second straight game. The Warhawks made it 5-0 with two more runs in the second on a two-out single and the Tigers had just one hit over the first two innings. A leadoff double by Peterson in the third led to a sac fly by Lazzara, then Holloway doubled in another run as Trinity began chipping away and made it a 5-2 game after three innings.
Trinity got its third straight leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth, but was not able to add any more runs to its comeback bid. Trinity stranded a pair of runners for the second straight inning, and Whitewater made them pay in the fifth. The Warhawks hammered out six runs on six hits in the inning to make it an 11-2 lead, then piled on three more runs in the sixth to push the margin into double digits. UWW had just one score in the seventh, but added a grand slam in the eighth, and two more in the ninth to pass the 20-run mark for a lopsided victory.
The Rundown (Game 2)
The second game of the doubleheader looked like it might be another Warhawks offensive showcase with two hits among the first three batters and a 1-0 lead. Instead, Trinity's defense turned an inning-ending double play to limit the damage.
Max Milligan (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) doubled with one out in the bottom of the inning, then Holloway traded places with him with a game-tying double with two outs.
The scoring got going again in the third as Whitewater plated a pair of runs to reclaim the lead. Lazzara reached on a two-out single in the bottom of the inning, though, allowing Holloway a chance to hit with runners on again. He delivered on a 1-1 pitch, launching a two-run shot to tie things up once again. The Warhawks kept the scoring going in the fourth, adding a run without getting a hit to take a 4-3 lead. The Tigers squandered base runners in the next two innings and the visitors continued to lead the tight game into the sixth inning.
A leadoff walk eventually led to Chavana giving way to Hellings in the bullpen and the Tiger defense came up with another inning-ending double play to keep it to a one-run game. Whitewater finally got Holloway out in the bottom of the sixth to preserve the lead, then added a two-run homer in the seventh to make it a 6-3 game. Two of the first three Tiger hitters reached after getting hit by a pitch and with Baker's single mixed in between them, the bases were loaded with no outs for Matthews. He scorched a 1-1 pitch over the trees beyond left field, giving Trinity its first lead of the series at 7-6. Whitewater understandably brought in a reliever after the grand slam and then quickly got two outs. Holloway walked to extend the inning, which led to the Hastings double that provided a much-needed insurance run and an 8-6 lead.
Hellings picked off a runner in the eighth, then retired the next two batters to keep the Tigers in front. In the ninth, he got a strikeout and then a line out with a runner on base to leave Whitewater with just one out remaining. A wild pitch led to an easy score on a single to the outfield and the Warhawks had the tying run on first. Three pitches later a high foul ball drifted towards the fence down the first base line, but Harris tracked it down just before smashing into the fence in foul territory, and the Tigers had snagged the win to split the day's games.
Up Next
Trinity and UW-Whitewater will finish off this weekend's four-game series with a Saturday morning showdown that begins at 9:00 a.m.
