SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University baseball team suffered its third consecutive loss as Concordia University (TX) earned a 5-4 win over the Tigers on Tuesday night.
Trinity (13-10) and Concordia (17-10) will meet again next week in Austin, Texas, to complete the home-and-home series between the two schools. The Tigers rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie things up in the bottom of the sixth, then saw the Tornados take the lead with the eventual game-winning run in the top of the ninth.
The Tigers actually took the early lead as
Thomas Moss (Sugar Land, Texas / Kempner) knocked a solo homer over the wall in the bottom of the first inning. Concordia tied things up quickly, though, earning a one-out walk in the top of the second that turned into a run after a groundout and two wild pitches. The Tornados strung together three straight hits with two outs in the top of the second to take the lead – capped by a two-run homer that made it a 4-1 game.
Trinity starting pitcher
Paul Nathanson (Long Lake, Minn. / The Blake School) was chased from the game after a leadoff single in the fourth, but reliever
John McGowan (Bethesda, Md. / Whitman) came in with two on and no outs to keep the lead at just three runs. McGowan pitched very well in relief, allowing just five hits over 5.1 innings and striking out four Concordia players. The only run he allowed came across in the ninth and he was unfortunately charged with the loss, falling to 0-1 this season. As McGowan held the Tornados in check, the Tiger offense came back to life with runs in the fifth and sixth.
Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake) drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, moved to third on a pair of wild pitches, and then scored on a groundout by
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) to make it a 4-2 game.
After a double play to end the top of the sixth, the Tigers were back at it in the bottom half of the inning.
Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) started the inning with a single and he went 2-for-4 at the plate in the game. After a flyout to right,
Jack Henning (Houston, Texas / Houston Christian) delivered an RBI double to trim the lead to just one run. Two batters later,
Khalfani Coney (Los Angeles, Calif. / Crossroads School) tied the game with his RBI single on a 2-2 pitch with two outs. Unfortunately, Trinity didn't have a baserunner over the final three innings, and Concordia finally broke the tie in the ninth. The Tornados led off the inning with a single that forced McGowan from the game, then stole second, and moved to third on a groundout. After a walk put runners on the corners, Concordia executed a perfect squeeze play to score what turned out to be the game-winning run.
Up Next
Trinity will resume Southern Athletic Association action with a three-game weekend series on the road against Berry College (GA), beginning with a single game on Thursday, April 4, at 6:00 p.m. (ET). The teams also play a doubleheader on Friday at 1:00 p.m. (ET).
