SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – No. 6/9 Tiger Baseball takes two from No. 1 Wisconsin-Whitewater on Friday.
Game One – Trinity 12, Whitewater 1
Trinity opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with immediate pressure at the plate. Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, California / Palos Verdes Peninsula) helped spark the offense with a base hit as the Tigers collected two hits in the frame. With runners in scoring position, Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) capitalized with a single through the right side of the infield and pushed across the game's first run to take a 1–0 lead after one inning, setting the tone early.
The Tigers broke the game open in the third inning, erupting for four runs on five hits. John Ramsey (Austin, Texas / Westwood) and Woodward both reached to ignite the rally, keeping constant traffic on the bases. Baker added another timely hit to plate two. Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake) came through during the stretch of the inning as Trinity strung together quality at-bats. The Tigers continued to apply pressure, forcing a Whitewater defensive error. With all of the traffic on the bases, as well as the base running pressure, Trinity extended its lead to 5–0 by the end of the inning.
Trinity's biggest statement came in the fourth, exploding for six runs to put the game out of reach. The inning began with disciplined at-bats that put runners aboard, and the Tigers continued to attack the strike zone. Ramsey again sparked the offense by reaching base, and Woodward delivered another extra-base hit to plate a run and advance into scoring position. Trinity continued to apply pressure with aggressive base running and productive contact, cashing in opportunities with runners in scoring position. The six-run outburst pushed the Tigers' lead to 11-0 and firmly in control.
Whitewater managed its lone run in the seventh inning, stringing together a pair of hits to break up the shutout, but Trinity quickly regained control and kept the damage minimal.
In the eighth, the Tigers added one final insurance run. Trinity capitalized on another defensive miscue, turning a scoring opportunity into its 12th run of the afternoon to cap the scoring on a Ramsey SAC fly.
Behind steady pitching and opportunistic offense in the key innings, Trinity secured a decisive 12-1 victory.
Jake Beck (Austin, Texas / Austin) picked up his first win of the season, going 6.1 innings and only allowing two hits and one earned run. Joey Hagen (San Clemente, California / Santa Margarita Catholic) also put in a solid performance on the hill, totaling 2.2 innings of work and not allowing a single run to cross the plate.
Game Two – Trinity 5, Whitewater 4
The Tigers did their damage first in the bottom of the second. Will Dixon (Houston, Texas / Memorial) started the inning with a single, and Michael Lustina followed by getting aboard to put two runners on. After Mattias Rytting (Houston, Texas / Bellaire) loaded the bases, Cam Champness (Katy, Texas / Taylor) ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to bring home Dixon and Lustina. Trinity kept the line moving when Kaleb Woodward punched an RBI single to drive in Rytting and make it a three-run frame.
UW-Whitewater answered with two runs in the fourth.
Trinity stretched the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Rytting reached to open the inning and moved into scoring position, and after Champness worked a walk and Woodward laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up, Trinity loaded the bases on a walk by Grant Anderson (Austin, Texas / Vista Ridge). Will Baker then drew a bases-loaded base on balls to force in Rytting for a 4–2 advantage.
Whitewater pushed across single runs in the fifth and sixth inning to bring the game to square.
With the game tied late, Trinity delivered the deciding swing in the bottom of the eighth. Champness singled and John Ramsey entered as a pinch runner, then moved into scoring position on Woodward's single through the left side. Grant Anderson lifted a sacrifice fly to right-center to bring Ramsey home with the go-ahead run.
In the top of the ninth, Will Taylor (Greenwood Village, Colorado / Cherry Creek) set the tone with a groundout and slammed the door shut with back-to-back strikeouts. The Tiger dugout erupted as Trinity celebrated the hard-fought win.
Will Taylor picked up the win in game two, putting together 3.2 innings of one-hit ball in relief.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will conclude their series against Whitewater tomorrow with an 8:45 AM first pitch.
