San Antonio - The eighth ranked Trinity University baseball team opened with a thrilling 5-2 win against McMurry University (TX) in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series opener on Friday night.

The Tigers improved their season record to an impressive 10-1 (9-1 SCAC) and snapped a six-game winning streak for McMurry, who fell to 11-3 (7-3 SCAC) with the loss. Clayton Jackson (Allen, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) took home the win out of the bullpen, going 3.2 strong shutout innings while only allowing one hit and collecting seven strikeouts. Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) was strong for the Tigers from the dish, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored, and an RBI.

The Rundown
Jake Beck (Austin, Texas / Austin) was called upon to start the game for the Tigers, and he began his night with a "three up, three down" inning in the top of the first. Trinity had its first opportunity when Nicholas Lazzara reached first on an error, and Khalfani Coney (Los Angeles, Calif. / Crossroads School) drew a walk to put Lazzara into scoring position. Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) would use that to his advantage, opening the scoring with an RBI single to drive in Lazzara and make it a 1-0 game.

McMurry responded in the top of the second with a home run to tie things 1-1, but the game wouldn't be tied for long. After back-to-back walks were issued to Max Milligan (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) and Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake), John Ramsey (Austin, Texas / Westwood) dropped a bunt single down the third base line, which led to a throwing error by the pitcher to bring both Milligan and Lustina in to score and retake the lead for the Tigers 3-1. 

The Tigers weren't ready to settle for just that. Maddox McDonald (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) hit a ground ball that brought Ramsey home, and Lazzara singled to help Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) cross home plate for the Tigers to take a 5-1 lead. The War Hawks quickly scored a run in the top of the fourth to bring the score to a 5-2 Tiger advantage but failed to do any more damage after that.

Jackson was summoned from the pen in the top of the fifth and was nothing but excellent. He had back-to-back "three up, three down" innings in the top of the seventh and eighth to keep the score where it was. Will Hellings (Summit, N.J. / Summit) came out to close the game in the top of the ninth and did just that by striking out both batters he faced to win it for the Tigers 5-2.

The Series Continues
Trinity will look to clinch the SCAC series against McMurry tomorrow, with the first pitch slated for 2 p.m. Game three of the series will start at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.