ROUND ROCK, Texas – The eighth-ranked Trinity University baseball team advanced in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a pair of wins on Saturday, finishing off a win over the University of St. Thomas (TX) with an 11-inning 10-9 decision, and then ending the night with a 7-6 win over Concordia University (TX).
The Tigers (35-7) began the day by completing a game that was suspended in the top of the ninth on Friday, earning a walk-off win against the Celts (19-19) in extra innings to end the first day of the tournament. The Tornados (32-10) opened their tournament with a win over McMurry University (TX), but Trinity produced another late-inning rally to move on in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament.
The only extra-base hit of the first game for the Tigers came on the final play of the contest as
Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) slammed a double into left-center field to bring in two runs with the walk-off hit. Baker was 2-for-4 with three walks and four RBI in the game. Trinity led 8-3 heading into the ninth on Friday morning, but as the storms rolled into the area, so did the St. Thomas offense. The Celts wound up scoring five runs to tie things up before the game was suspended. When the game resumed Saturday morning, Trinity escaped the bases-loaded jam inherited from the day before, and also escaped a deficit when St. Thomas scored a run on an error in the top of the 11th. The Tigers rallied in the bottom of the inning with a pair of two-out walks to set up Baker for the game-winner.
As if his walk-off game-winner to start the day wasn't enough, Baker was there again in a huge spot in the bottom of the eighth against Concordia. Baker knocked another hit to his favorite spot in the park (left-center field), driving in two runs to put Trinity up 7-6 heading into the final inning of play. Both teams went back-and-forth all evening, but Concordia looked to be in control after hitting a pair of key home runs. A solo shot in the sixth tied things up 5-5, then another solo homer in the top of the eighth gave the Tornados the lead. Those hits just set up Baker with the dramatics again, slashing his only hit of the game to help the Tigers pull off the win.
Nicholas Lazzara (Carrollton, Texas / Jesuit College Prep) and
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) both had three hits in the win over Concordia, with Lazzara matching Baker for the team lead with two RBI.
Maddox McDonald (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) scored a pair of runs in the game and joined Lazzara as the only two Tiger players with doubles in the game. Woodward also had two runs and two hits against St. Thomas earlier in the day, while Lazzara also had two RBI and was walked three times.
Will Taylor (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Cherry Creek) earned the win in the opening game to improve to 5-0 this season, allowing one unearned run on three hits and striking out three batters over 1.1 innings on Saturday. He was the sixth pitcher of the game, though he was only the second to appear after the game was halted on Friday.
Wes Hellings (Summit, N.J. / Summit) scored the win in game two, upping his record to 2-0 after allowing just one run on one hit over the final 2.1 innings.
Up Next
Trinity will await the winner of tomorrow's game between Concordia and McMurry, which is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start. The Tigers are the final undefeated team remaining in the tournament and need just one more win to claim the SCAC Championship.
