SAN ANTONIO – The #1 Trinity University baseball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 7-4 win over #7 Kean University (NJ) on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (6-4) lost 6-5 to the Cougars (6-3-1) to open the series last night and today's win sets up a dramatic series finale between the two teams. Kean out-hit Trinity 11-9 and broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the third. The Tigers countered with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. Kean scored in the fourth and the eighth to make it a one-run contest, but Trinity picked up two insurance runs to hold on for the win.
Jake Beck (Austin, Texas / Austin) picked up the win after going 6.2 innings to start the game, allowing three runs on nine hits and recording a pair of strikeouts.
Brandon Morio (Austin, Texas / McNeil) allowed just one unearned run on one hit in an inning of relief, but
Will Taylor (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Cherry Creek) finished the game and earned his second save of the season. Taylor got the final four outs of the game, including two strikeouts.
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) made the most of his only hit of the day, crushing a three-run home run in a five-run third inning.
Anthony Suscha (Indianapolis, Ind. / Brebeuf Jesuit) went 2-for-3 with one run scored in his Tiger debut, while
Grant Anderson (Austin, Texas / Vista Ridge) went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Mattias Rytting (Houston, Texas / Bellaire) came in to catch late in the game and delivered a two-run single in the eighth.
Kean had a pair of hits in the opening inning, but Trinity cut down a runner trying to score from second to keep the Cougars off the board early. Both teams got runners on base in the first two innings but neither could change the scoreboard until the third. Kean led off the inning with back-to-back home runs to take a 2-0 lead.
Will Dixon (Houston, Texas / Memorial) and
Thomas Moss (Sugar Land, Texas / Kempner) drew walks to lead off the bottom of the inning, which set Woodward up for his towering home run to right that put the Tigers up 3-2. Suscha followed with another walk and came around to score after a single by
Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake) led to a throwing error. Lustina then scored on Anderson's RBI double to finish off the five-run inning.
The Cougars led off the fourth with a double and then scored after a wild pitch and a ground ball to short to make it a 5-3 game. Kean then strung together three straight hits to load the bases and put Beck in a huge jam. The Tiger right-hander promptly induced an inning-ending double play and escaped a four-hit inning with just one run allowed. Neither team was able to score again until the eighth. Kean ended the bottom of the seventh with a double play and carried that momentum with them into the next inning. A double and an error made it a one-run game at 5-4, but Taylor came in and got a strikeout with the tying run on base. In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers loaded the bases with two singles and a hit batter. Rytting came in and stroked a single to right field to score Anderson and
Sawyer Haynes (Waco, Texas / Midway), giving Taylor plenty of cushion and a 7-4 lead. Taylor gave up an infield single and a walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but he sealed the win with two ground ball outs to slam the door.
Trinity and Kean will finish off the three-game weekend series tomorrow, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Kean will remain in San Antonio to take on Southwestern University (TX) on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. and the Tigers will continue their Spring Break against Muhlenberg College (PA) on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
