SAN ANTONIO – The eighth-ranked Trinity University baseball team completed a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend series sweep with a ninth-inning rally to earn a 6-5 win over McMurry University (TX) on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers (12-1, 11-1 SCAC) scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to avoid losing the final game of the series and extend the team's winning streak to five games. Trinity won 5-2 on Friday to open the series, then took a 5-1 victory in game two yesterday to clinch the series win. Trinity had an early 2-1 lead, but McMurry scored four runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to carry a 5-2 advantage into the ninth. The Tigers collected four of their nine hits on the day in the final inning and scored all four runs without anyone getting out.
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) drove in the tying and winning runs with a walk-off single to right-center field, putting the finishing touches on a three-hit day for the sophomore outfielder.
Kai Tinker (Simi Valley, Calif. / Grace Brethren) also had three hits, and the duo combined for six of Trinity's total for the day.
Khalfani Coney (Los Angeles, Calif. / Crossroads School) started the ninth-inning rally with a hard-fought single to right, then advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Max Milligan (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) followed with a four-pitch walk to bring the tying run to the plate and
Kai Tinker (Simi Valley, Calif. / Grace Brethren) drove a single up the middle to bring in Coney to make it a 5-3 game with the tying run on first base.
Matt McNaney (Albuquerque, N.M. / Albuquerque Academy) then laid down a bunt with the intention to put both runners in scoring position, but the bunt was perfectly placed down the third base line for a hit that loaded the bases.
Cam Champness (Katy, Texas / Taylor) then reached on catcher's interference as his swing at an 0-2 pitch knocked the catcher's glove off to advance all the runners and make it a 5-4 game. That set the table for Woodward, who drove a 2-1 pitch into the gap to win the game and clinch the series sweep.
McMurry opened the scoring with a run on two hits in the top of the second inning against Trinity starter
Jace Clay (Missouri City, Texas / Strake Jesuit). Clay struck out five batters over six innings of work, giving up three runs on six hits and wound up with a no-decision. Trinity quickly tied the game in the bottom of the inning as Milligan and Tinker hit back-to-back doubles with two outs to make it a 1-1 game.
Maddox McDonald (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) then gave the Tigers the lead as he laid down a sac bunt with runners on the corners for an RBI that made it a 2-1 game after two innings.
Clay was on cruise control for the next three innings, but a double after a one-out walk in the sixth made it a tie game once again at 2-2. After a leadoff double in the seventh, Clay gave way for reliever
Jack Briese (Danville, Ky. / Boyle County), who allowed a walk to the first batter, but got the next two hitters out. McMurry came up with a two-out hit, though to take a 4-2 lead. The Tigers had two on with one out in the bottom of the inning, but a double play kept it a two-run game heading into the eighth.
The eighth saw McMurry add an insurance run on another two-out hit and the visitors looked to be in full control of the game.
Kyle Hoggatt (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) came on in the ninth and got a strikeout, then picked off the runner at first, and finished the inning with another strikeout to set up the dramatic bottom of the ninth for his offense. Hoggatt earned his first collegiate win to improve to 1-0 by pitching the ninth inning.
Up Next
Trinity will continue what will be an extremely busy stretch of home games by hosting Nichols College (MA) on Tuesday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. That will be the first of six straight days of games for the Tigers.
