No. 9 Tiger Baseball sets their sights on claiming their 14th Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title.
The Tigers (30-10) are fresh off of a series victory over Centenary College. Trinity topped the Gents 6-3 in game one and split the doubleheader the next day, winning the final game 5-1 to take the series. Jackson Teer (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) improved his season record to 7-1 after throwing 8.1 innings and only giving up one earned run. Will Hellings (Summit, New Jersey / Summit) went three shutout innings in game one to earn his fifth save of the season. Cristian Holloway (Brownsville, Texas / Veterans Memorial) finished the weekend batting .444 (4-9) with four RBIs and a double. In game three, Ty Preston (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) had an excellent day at the plate going 3-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Trinity now holds a 16-5 conference record, claimed a regular season championship, and earned the top seed in the tournament.
SCAC Pitcher of the Week - Jackson Teer
For the FOURTH time this season, junior Jackson Teer has been selected as the SCAC Pitcher of the Week.
From the SCAC Press Release:
Teer was dialed in for the ninth-ranked Tigers, pitching 8.1 innings and allowing six hits and a single run in a series-clinching win over the Gents, 5-1 on Saturday evening. The junior struck out seven batters and walked one and retired 16 out of 17 batters faced during a stretch that went from the fifth until the ninth inning, shutting down an offense that had just blasted the Tigers for 14 runs on 11 hits. Teer is currently ranked in the top five in the SCAC in both ERA (0.75 – first) and strikeouts (87 – second).
SCAC Hitter of the Week - Colt Harris
For the second time this season, senior Colt Harris (Katy, Texas / Houston Christian) has been selected as the SCAC Hitter of the Week.
From the SCAC Press Release:
Harris led the ninth-ranked Tigers to a 3-1 record last week, including its SCAC weekend series win at Centenary College that clinched the top seed at the upcoming SCAC Tournament. The senior batted .462 (6-for-13) over the four games, scoring four runs and collecting seven RBI. He had three home runs and a double among his six hits, sporting a slugging percentage of 1.231 for the week.
Harris started the week with two home runs and three RBI in Trinity's 5-4 win over UMHB, which included the game-winning homer that broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning. He followed that with a 2-for-3 performance in the series opener with Centenary, scoring twice and driving in two more runs to account for four of the team's six runs in Friday night's win. Harris finished the week with a solo homer as part of a two-run seventh that gave the Tigers a four-run cushion.
Preview - SCAC Championship
The Tigers will travel to Cleburne, Texas to play in the SCAC Championship tournament. The Tigers will play against the fourth-seed Texas Lutheran on Friday, May 3rd, at 1:00 PM. This opening round will be a rematch of the 2023 SCAC Championship where the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 13-6. The other two teams in the tournament are Centenary and Southwestern, who claim the second and third seeds.
On the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs: The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 23-15 (12-9) record. TLU concluded their final series by beating Southwestern two games to one. The last time these two teams met, Trinity took the first two games of the series but lost game three in extra innings. The Bulldog lineup will be led by senior infielder Aric Vasquez. Vasquez is batting .323 with a .398 OBP. The Tigers can also expect to face senior right-hander Brendan Beard. Beard has a 2.35 season ERA and threw a complete game shutout against Trinity last time out. All-time, TU is 45-41 against TLU.
Looking Ahead
If the Tigers prevail, they will play the winner of Centenary and Southwestern on Saturday at noon.
