SAN ANTONIO – The 14th-ranked Trinity baseball team put on an offensive clinic with a 20-8 win over McMurry University on Tuesday evening.

The Tigers won their ninth consecutive game to improve to 22-7 this season, while McMurry snapped a three-game win streak against non-conference opponents, and fell to 15-15 on the year. Trinity blew up for 20 runs on 24 hits in the game, turning an early 5-4 deficit into a blowout victory. The Tigers used a two-run fourth inning to take a narrow 6-5 lead, then exploded for 11 runs in the fifth and sixth to effectively seal the win. McMurry used nine different pitchers on a true bullpen day for its staff, but Trinity scored in every inning except the third. All the rest were multi-run innings except for the eighth.

Jack Briese (Danville, Ky. / Boyle County) got the win in relief to improve to 2-1 this season. Briese allowed two runs on four hits over 3.1 innings, but led a total of seven Tiger pitchers with six strikeouts in the game. Zach Balbin (San Marino, Calif. / San Marino) and Will Hellings (Summit, N.J. / Summit) gave up just one baserunner over the final 2.2 innings to close out the game.

Today's game was about hitting, though, as seven different Trinity players had two or more hits. Leading the way was Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula), who went 5-for-6 with two doubles, four RBI, and one run scored. Brett Jones (Boulder, Colo. / Fairview) had an outstanding day as well with a 4-for-6 performance that also included three runs scored.

Jack Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) and Max Milligan (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) combined to go 5-for-5 and led the team with four runs each, while Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) matched Woodward with four RBI. Korson Hastings (San Antonio, Texas / Churchill) finished with two runs scored and three RBI, reaching base three times. Alex Monson (Houston, Texas / Memorial) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and launched Trinity's only homer of the day. Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) also had two hits in the game for the Tigers.

The Rundown

The Tigers got the scoring started in the bottom of the first to take the early lead. Woodward hit a one-out double that was followed by a walk for Lazzara. Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) drove in the first run of the game with a single to center, then Monson did the same to make it 2-0.

McMurry's first hit of the game came in the top of the second and it was a solo homer to cut the lead in half. An error, another hit, and two walks put the visitors in front and forced Trinity to make the call to Briese out of the bullpen. He slammed the door shut with a strikeout to hold it to a 3-2 deficit for the Tigers.

In the bottom of the inning, Milligan opened with a bunt single, then Baker moved him to third with a single to right field. Hastings then got a sac fly to tie the game, then Woodward put Trinity back in front 4-3 with a single to center.

A leadoff single for McMurry in the third led to another long ball – this time a two-run shot that put the War Hawks back in front 5-4 of what started as a back-and-forth game. Briese buckled down after that and struck out the last two batters to keep the game close.

Trinity's only zero for the game came after that, then Briese pitched around a walk and a hit to finish the top of the fourth with another strikeout. The Tigers got going with the bottom of the order again as Milligan drew a leadoff walk. Baker followed that with a single to left, then Hastings walked to load the bases with nobody out. McMurry got two strikeouts after that and looked like they might hang on to the lead for another inning, but Lazzara denied them that with a two-run double to put the Tigers back in front 6-5.

Briese turned up his intensity after getting the lead, pitching a 1-2-3 fifth that included his final two strikeouts. Starting the inning with the lead for the first time all night, Trinity's offense began a stretch that turned the game into a blowout. Harris walked to lead off the inning, then Monson was robbed of a hit on a line drive to second. McMurry nearly caught Harris for a double play at first, but the throw was off target and Harris instead went to second. Jones singled to put runners on the corners, then Milligan had his second bunt single of the day to drive in the first run of the inning. Baker walked to load the bases, then Hastings delivered a two-run single up the middle to push it to a 9-5 advantage. Peterson kept the hit parade going and load the bases again. Woodward put the Tigers into double digits with a hit to left, then Lazzara singled in a pair of runs to cap the six-run inning.

Trinity's bullpen got in a little trouble with two outs in the top of the sixth, but Jonathan Newman (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) came on to strand the bases loaded and keep it a 12-5 Tiger lead. That missed opportunity for McMurry allowed the Tigers to extend the lead even further with five more runs in the bottom of the inning. Monson launched a solo homer to right-center to start off the prolific inning. Jones and Baker both picked up hits after that, with Milligan drawing a walk in between, and Baker's hit driving home another run. After Hastings walked to load the bases, a passed ball led to another score. Peterson had an infield hit to drive in a run, followed by an RBI single from Woodward to make it 17-5. McMurry went to the bullpen again after that, then got out of the inning with three straight outs to stop the bleeding.

Despite the lopsided score, McMurry continued to battle and picked up three more runs in the top of the seventh. Balbin came on in relief with two runners on, getting two quick outs to limit the damage, and Trinity still led 17-8 heading into the seventh-inning stretch. Jones got another hit to lead off the home seventh, then scored two batters later on a single up the middle from Matthew McNaney (Albuquerque, N.M. / Albuquerque Academy). McMurry got the next two batters out, but Woodward drove in another run with a two-out double to put Trinity up 19-8 heading into the eighth.

Balbin gave up a leadoff walk to start the eighth, which wound up being the only runner he allowed as he retired the next three in a row to bring out the offense for a final curtain call. Khalfani Coney (Los Angeles, Calif. / Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences) drew a one-out walk, then Jones got his final hit of the day with a single to right-center. Jarrett Phillips (Marshall, Texas / Marshall) drove in Coney for the final run of the ball game that put Trinity to 20 runs scored for the first time since 2022. Hellings came on in the ninth and put the final touches on the game with a 1-2-3 inning.

Up Next

The Tigers will get back into Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, opening up a three-game series against Texas Lutheran University on Friday, April 12, at 6:00 p.m.