SAN ANTONIO – Trinity's 14th-ranked baseball team opened a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend series with a 5-0 loss to Texas Lutheran University on Friday night.

The Tigers dropped to 22-8 overall and 10-3 in SCAC play, while the Bulldogs improved to 19-11, 8-5 with the shutout win. The loss also snaps Trinity's nine-game winning streak, as well as a three-game streak against TLU.

Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / Alexander) was charged with the loss, falling to 6-1 this season despite allowing just two unearned runs over 5.2 innings of work. Jonathan Newman (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) allowed just two hits in an relief appearance that last 2.1 innings, and the three runs he allowed were also unearned.

Trinity made four total errors in the game, while also collecting four hits against the Texas Lutheran starter who pitched a complete-game shutout. After an error led to two unearned runs in the first inning, the Tigers stranded two runners of their own in the bottom of the inning to keep it a 2-0 game.

Both teams left the bases loaded in the second, and Trinity also had two on with just one out in the fourth but failed to score. A one-out double in the seventh by Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) looked promising, but TLU made a diving play on a line drive to left-center to end the inning and keep the Tigers scoreless.

After Texas Lutheran scored three runs with a two-out rally and two Tiger errors in the top of the inning, Cristian Holloway (Brownsville, Texas / Veterans Memorial) doubled to lead off the eighth, then moved to third on a deep fly to right. A hard line drive back to the mound ended up being an inning-ending double play, which locked in the shutout.

Up Next

Trinity and Texas Lutheran will play game two of the series tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. The series finale will be Sunday, April 14, at 1:00 p.m.