SAN ANTONIO – The eighth-ranked Trinity University baseball team suffered a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX) on Tuesday night.
The Tigers (15-5) split with UMHB (10-5) last year with both teams winning road games. Trinity also lost last year's game in San Antonio by the same score, though the Tigers still lead the series with a 30-13 record against The Cru. Mary Hardin-Baylor led a narrow 10-9 edge in hits, but took advantage of two Tiger errors, and turned three double plays on defense. Trinity also left 10 runners on base in the game, hitting just 1-for-14 (.071) with runners on base and going 1-for-10 (.100) with runners in scoring position.
Both teams hit into double plays in the first inning of the game, though it was Trinity that struck first with a three-run home run from
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) in the second inning. UMHB rallied immediately with two runs in the third and then tied the game with a run in the fourth. The visitors continued to pour it on with two more runs in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead, then added an insurance run in the eighth to tally the final score.
Trinity left at least one runner on base in every inning after the Woodward homer, with one of the best scoring opportunities coming in the sixth after loading the bases with two outs. A double play in the seventh erased a leadoff single to try and cut into the lead – which was just two runs at the time. The Tigers made one last bid at a comeback in the ninth as the first two runners reached on a walk and a hit batter that brought the tying run to the plate. That's when Mary Hardin-Baylor picked up its third double play of the game to ruin the momentum and hold on for the win.
Sam Rickman (Spring, Texas / Grand Oaks) was charged with the loss and fell to 0-1, allowing three runs (only two earned) on four hits over 3.1 relief innings, and striking out four batters. Woodward had two hits in the game, including his home run that accounted for all of Trinity's scoring output.
Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep),
Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point), and
Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake) all had two hits each, and the four hitters combined to collect all but one of Trinity's hits in the game.
Up Next
Trinity will be right back on the field tomorrow, hosting Hardin-Simmons University (TX) at 5:00 p.m. to complete the regular season series between the two teams. The Tigers defeated the Cowboys 8-5 in Abilene, Texas, earlier this month.
