SAN ANTONIO - The 12th-ranked Trinity Baseball Team was edge in a 7-5 road loss against fifth-ranked East Texas Baptist on Tuesday afternoon.
Trinity (9-4) had its four-game winning streak snapped with the loss, while ETBU (12-4) won for the third time in the last four meetings between the two schools. The previous three matchups came at last year's NCAA Regional.
Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) was a one-man wrecking ball in today's game, tying Trinity's single-game record with three home runs. It is just the third time since 1999 that a Tiger player has hit three or more homers in one game, with the others being Chase Tettleton (2004) and Doug Grigar (1999). Harris finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI. He tied the game 2-2 with his roundtripper in the fourth, then brought Trinity within one run (5-4) with a two-run shot in the sixth.
Ty Preston (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) also had a solo homer to account for the only other run not driven in by Harris. Harris and Preston finished with four of the six hits collected by the Tiger offense in today's game.
Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) had one of the others and also came around to score a run, while
Korson Hastings (San Antonio, Texas / Churchill) had a pinch-hit single to extend the game in the ninth.
Harris started the scoring with the first hit of the game for either team, knocking a solo homer just two batters into the second inning. East Texas tied the game in the bottom half, taking advantage of two walks, swiping two bases, and then scoring on a sac fly.
The hometown Tigers took the lead with a run in the bottom of the third, following a double with a two-out single to pull in front 2-1. Harris was there again for the Tigers in the fourth, tying the game with a solo shot that came with two outs. The game wasn't tied long, though, as ETBU put together two hits and a Trinity error to make it a 4-2 lead.
East Texas Baptist extended the lead to 5-2 with a solo homer of its own in the bottom of the fifth. Lazzara singled to lead off the Trinity sixth, then after ETBU got the next two batters out, Harris got Trinity back in the game with another two-out bomb to make it 5-4.
Preston tied the game in the top of the seventh with his solo homer – marking a third straight two-out long ball for Trinity. East Texas Baptist answered with a home run in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-5 lead. Trinity put runners on in the eighth and ninth, but was unable to score.
Zach Balbin (San Marino, Calif. / San Marino) took the loss for Trinity in relief, falling to 0-1 this season.
Michael Boeke (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) got the start, allowing just one run over 2.0 innings, and striking out four batters.
Up Next
Trinity begins Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against Southwestern University this weekend. Game one of the series begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday night.
