HOUSTON, Texas – The ninth-ranked Tiger Baseball team swept St. Thomas in their Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader 11-6 and 21-12 to open the three-game series.
Trinity (29-7, 23-3 SCAC) has now won eight consecutive games and remains atop the SCAC standings, while also clinching the weekend series against the Celts (19-14, 17-8 SCAC), who are still fourth in the conference. The Tigers scored nine of their 11 runs in the final three innings, holding off a St. Thomas team that also scored most of its runs late in the game. Game two was an offensive showcase for both teams, which combined for nine runs in the second inning alone. Trinity once again did its best work in the later innings, sprinting past St. Thomas with 16 runs from the sixth inning on – including TWO six-run innings.
Jace Clay (Missouri City, Texas / Strake Jesuit) got the win in game one to improve to 5-1 this season, while
Jack Briese (Danville, Ky. / Boyle County) notched his fourth save of the year. Clay struck out five batters over 6.0 innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits. Briese yielded four runs over the final 3.0 innings, though just one of those runs was earned.
Kyle Hoggatt (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) notched the win in relief in game two and is now 2-0 on the year.
Jack Bussard (Reisterstown, Md. / McDonough School) gave up just three hits across 3.0 scoreless innings to facilitate Trinity's late rally, then gave way to Hoggatt with the score tied at 8-8.
Brandon Nelson (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) and
Maddox McDonald (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) had three hits and two runs each in the opener, while Nelson also had a home run and two RBI for the Tiger offense.
Nicholas Jones (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) also had a pair of hits, while
Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Also collecting two hits in game one were
Khalfani Coney (Los Angeles, Calif. / Crossroads School) and
Kai Tinker (Simi Valley, Calif. / Grace Brethren).
Tinker had a monster second game, going 4-for-6 with four runs scored and three RBI.
Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake) finished with two hits, three runs scored, and four RBI in the finale, while Baker and
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) also scored three runs each.
Cam Champness (Katy, Texas / Taylor) drove in two runs in game two, with
Thomas Moss (Sugar Land, Texas / Kempner) scoring twice.
The Rundown, Game 1
The first game was a slow start to the series for both teams and after the sixth inning the score was tied 2-2. The first Trinity run was scored after
Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) hit a single down center field pushing McDonald home in the top of the third to tie the game at 1-1. Then Coney doubled to right field sending Baker across home plate to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead at the time.
After St. Thomas scored and tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, the energy started to shift and Trinity put up five runs against the Celts in the seventh. Jones started the charge after doubling to left field allowing Lazzara to run home and break the tie. Immediately after, Baker doubled to right field on a allowing both Jones and Lazzara to put up two more runs. Nelson then tripled to center field, sending Baker home, before Tinker singled and brought in Nelson to make it a 7-2 game.
After an error to start the bottom of the eighth led to three unearned runs to cut it to a 7-5 game, the Tigers made a final push, Nelson hit a home run to spark another big inning. Champness had a sac fly to bring in the next run, then Woodward tripled to bring in another score, and crossed the plate himself on a wild pitch to make it 11-5. St. Thomas managed another run in the ninth, but the rally was not enough as the Tigers held on for the win.
The Rundown, Game 2
After a fairly quiet first inning, both teams exploded in the second to set the tone for the final game. Three errors contributed to a four-run inning for the Tigers, with Lustina driving in two of those runs with a triple to right field. Tinker drove in the opening run, bringing in Jones who led off the inning with a double. St. Thomas was unfazed by the big push by Trinity, scoring five runs of its own in the bottom of the second to take a 5-4 lead after two.
The Celts continued to pour in runs and it they were on their way to splitting the doubleheader after taking an 8-4 lead after three innings. Woodward walked and eventually came around to score in the top of the fifth to make it 8-5, but St. Thomas still led heading into the sixth. That's when Trinity's offense really came to life, starting with a three-run inning that tied the game. A two-base error brought in two runs, then a wild pitch tied the game. Broussard and Hoggatt held St. Thomas scoreless in the sixth, which opened the door for more Tiger offense in the seventh.
Max Milligan (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) doubled to open the inning, then scored after a pair of wild pitches. Tinker doubled in a run to make it a 10-8 Trinity lead, then several wild pitches and a passed ball led to four more runs in the inning and a six-run lead. The Celts had no answer in the bottom of the inning against Hoggatt, putting Trinity back up to bat in the eighth. Lustina drove in a run after Nelson's leadoff double to make it 15-8 heading into the final two innings. St. Thomas finally answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but Trinity was still comfortably leading by five.
In the ninth, Trinity tacked on six more runs to put the game out of reach, with four hits and two more errors contributing to the cause for the Tigers. Baker singled home the first run and the second scored on an error. Tinker smacked his fourth hit of the night to drive in another run, then Lustina doubled in the next score. Champness then had a two-run single to make it a 21-run night for the Tigers. The Celts scratched across two meaningless runs in the bottom of the inning, but the game was well in hand by then.
Up Next
Trinity and St. Thomas will conclude the SCAC series with a single game at 1:00 p.m.
