SAN ANTONIO – The 14th-ranked Trinity University baseball team clinched this weekend's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series with a 9-6 win over Texas Lutheran University on Sunday afternoon.
After getting shut out 5-0 in Friday's opening game of the series, the Tigers bounced back with a 6-5 win in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon, and today's result upped the team's record to 24-8 overall and 12-3 in conference play. Texas Lutheran fell to 19-13 overall and 8-7 in SCAC.
Trinity opened up a 5-1 lead after four innings, then matched a three-run fifth inning by TLU with a three-run inning of its own to lead 8-4 after five. That lead went to 9-4 after the Tigers scored again in the sixth, then Texas Lutheran was only able to get single runs in the seventh and ninth to close the game. Trinity also doubled up its guests with a 14-hit afternoon.
Jack Briese (Danville, Ky. / Boyle County) pitched the final 4.2 innings in relief to earn the win and improve to 3-1 this season. Briese and starter
Trajan Lee (Dallas, Texas / John Paull II) both struck out four batters. Lee pitched into the fourth inning before giving way to the bullpen, allowing just one run on two hits.
It was a good day to be Jack, as Tiger seniors
Jack Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) and
Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) had three hits each, combining to score three runs and collect three RBI as well. Baker went 3-for-4 with two doubles, while Peterson was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Peterson also hit his sixth home run of the season to tie for the team lead.
Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) and
Cristian Holloway (Brownsville, Texas / Veterans Memorial) both had two hits and a run scored, while Harris also led Trinity with three RBI in the game.
Maddox McDonald (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) also hit his first homer of the season, picking up two runs and two RBI for the Tigers.
The Rundown
A two-out walk led to a run for the Bulldogs in the top of the first, but the Tigers answered back immediately with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead.
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) walked to lead off the game, then Peterson singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. The next two hitters got out, but
Alex Monson (Houston, Texas / Memorial) drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Harris then delivered a two-run single to put Trinity in front 2-1 after the opening inning.
Baker doubled to bring McDonald home in the bottom of the fourth, then Peterson hit a two-run shot over the wall in right-center to make it a 5-2 game; but Texas Lutheran also had a big inning up its sleeve in the fifth. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with just one out in the inning, plating two runs with a double, and then re-loading the bases with a hit batter. Another hit batter led to another run to trim the lead to just 5-4, but Briese then got the next two batters out to keep Trinity in the lead.
The Tiger offense took advantage of two errors in the bottom of the inning, matching Texas Lutheran's three runs in the top half of the frame to swing the momentum back to the home team.
Kai Tinker (Simi Valley, Calif. / Grace Brethren) delivered a sacrifice fly to right to start the scoring, then McDonald crushed a two-run homer to finish. Baker and Woodward threatened to keep the inning going with a double and a walk, but TLU escaped with no further damage.
Holloway singled with one out in the bottom of the sixth, then moved to second on a ground out to the right side of the infield. Harris then knocked a single past the shortstop to bring in another run and a 9-4 Tiger lead.
The seventh inning saw Texas Lutheran score an unearned run against Briese to cut into the lead, and this time the Tigers stranded two batters in the bottom of the inning to keep the margin the same. Both teams went down in order in the eighth, then Texas Lutheran led off the ninth with a solo homer to make it a 9-6 game. Briese then retired the next three hitters to clinch the win, highlighted by his final two strikeouts of the day.
Up Next
Trinity will travel to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, for a Tuesday evening game that begins at 5:00 p.m. The Tigers return home for more SCAC action next weekend, beginning a weekend series with the University of Dallas with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader that begins at 1:00 p.m.
