SAN ANTONIO – The eighth-ranked Trinity University baseball team opened a three-game Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend series with a 9-5 win against Southwestern University (TX) on Friday night.
The Tigers (31-7, 25-3 SCAC) scored three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 lead over the Pirates (13-24, 11-17 SCAC), then held on to win in the end. Trinity took two out of three against Southwestern to win last year's regular season series, and the Tigers also lead the all-time series with the Pirates with a 101-64 record.
Brandon Nelson (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) led Trinity with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, driving in one run and scoring another.
Kai Tinker (Simi Valley, Calif. / Grace Brethren) finished 2-for-3 with a solo home run, three runs scored, and two RBI.
Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) drove in three runs with his only hit of the day – a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the third inning.
Cam Champness (Katy, Texas / Taylor) also had two hits for the Tigers, while
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) reached base three times and drove in two runs.
Wes Hellings (Summit, N.J. / Summit) pitched 2.1 shutout innings in relief to earn the win and improve to 1-0 this season, allowing just one hit to the nine batters he faced.
Jack Bussard (Reisterstown, Md. / McDonough School) followed with a three-inning appearance, giving up just one run on one hit.
Will Hellings (Summit, N.J. / Summit) came into the game with the bases loaded and just one out in the ninth, inducing a game-ending double play to squash Southwestern's bid to extend the game, and earn his team-best fifth save of the year.
The Rundown
Southwestern got the scoring started and was in control of the game early on, stringing together three hits in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. Trinity's offense was quiet to start as the first five batters were retired in order. Tinker broke that streak up with a two-out solo home run that tied the game 1-1 after two innings.
The third inning saw the Pirates reclaim the lead with two runs on five hits, giving the visitors eight hits in just three innings; however, the Tigers were also heating up on offense. Woodward was hit by a pitch and then
Maddox McDonald (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) laced a single up the middle to put two on with just one out in the bottom of the inning. Lazzara then crushed a three-run homer to put Trinity in front 4-3.
The pitching staffs for both teams settled in after that and it wasn't until the sixth inning that either team was able to score again. The Tigers nearly blew the game open in the bottom of the inning after loading the bases with two walks and a single to start. Champness added another single to score a run, then Woodward lifted a sac fly to left to make it 6-3. Trinity was back at it in the seventh, adding three more runs to widen the lead to six runs heading into the final two innings. Tinker singled in the first run of the inning, followed by an RBI single by Nelson. Woodward finished off the scoring with another hit three batters later.
Southwestern made a big push in the ninth by loading the bases with no outs. Two walks with the bases loaded brought in two runs to make it 9-5, though the Tigers did get a strikeout in between the two free passes. Hellings then got what proved to be the game-ending ground ball that led to the double play that stopped the rally short.
Up Next
Trinity and Southwestern will play the second game of the weekend series on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
