MOUNT BERRY, Ga. – The Trinity University baseball team swept a Southern Athletic Association doubleheader from Berry College (GA) on Saturday afternoon, winning a 12-inning opener 8-7 and then rallying late to steal a 9-8 win in game two.
The Tigers (16-10, 7-2 SAA) also defeated the Vikings (14-11, 4-5 SAA) 13-4 in yesterday's series opener, meaning Trinity also swept the weekend series at Berry. Trinity scored four runs in the eighth inning of game one to erase a 4-2 lead, but Berry scored twice in the bottom of the inning to tie things up and send the game to extra innings. Both teams scored a run in the 10th and then the Tigers scored again in the 12th to take the win. Trinity scored three times in the eighth to pull in front of Berry in game two, then held on as Berry had the tying run on base when the game ended.
Mattias Rytting (Houston, Texas / Bellaire) went 4-for-6 with one run and two RBI to lead the offense in game one, while
Khalfani Coney (Los Angeles, Calif. / Crossroads School) was 3-for-6 with a run and two RBI.
Sawyer Haynes (Waco, Texas / Midway) went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and hit a home run in the top of the 12th to win the game.
Will Taylor (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Cherry Creek) picked up the win to improve to 4-0 this season, allowing five runs – only three earned – on eight hits over 5.0 innings, striking out three batters.
Jake Beck (Austin, Texas / Austin) pitched the final inning and earned the save, striking out one batter.
Thomas Moss (Sugar Land, Texas / Kempner) went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the second game, with
Nicholas Jones (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) was 2-for-4 with one run and three RBI.
Grant Anderson (Austin, Texas / Vista Ridge) had two hits and drove in two runs, while
Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) also had a pair of hits in the game. Rytting and
Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake) scored two runs each in the game.
Cam Champness (Katy, Texas / Taylor) went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Beck came back and started the second game, allowing two earned runs (four total) on four hits over 3.1 innings, and striking out a pair of batters.
Kyle Hoggatt (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) finished off the game to earn the win and improve to 2-0, allowing two runs on seven hits over 4.0 innings and recording three strikeouts.
The Rundown
Both teams were retired in order the first two innings of game one, but Trinity finally got the scoring started in the top of the third. Rytting singled to lead off the inning and then stole second. Berry got two outs after that and nearly got out of the inning, but an error kept the inning going and Rytting scored on the play.
Anthony Suscha (Indianapolis, Ind. / Brebeuf Jesuit) followed that error with a double and the Tigers led 2-0.
Andrew Mason (Austin, Texas / Anderson) threw a perfect 3.2 innings to start the game and then Berry picked up back-to-back singles around a wild pitch and broke up the shutout as well.
Tait Johnson (Round Rock, Texas / Stony Point) came in and got the final out to keep it a 2-1 game. Johnson also pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, but then Berry tied the game in the sixth scored on a throwing error after a single and two steals.
Taylor came in for the Tigers in the seventh and another error cost them the lead as Berry scored two unearned runs to take a 4-2 lead heading into the eighth.
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) started the inning with a leadoff single, then Anderson delivered an RBI single two batters later. Haynes doubled to keep the two-out rally going, setting up Coney's two-RBI single to give Trinity a 5-4 lead. Rytting made it a five-hit inning to score Coney and the Tigers led 6-4. A pair of walks came back to hurt Taylor in the bottom of the inning, as Berry connected on a game-tying double. The Vikings carried the momentum in the ninth, loading the bases with one out; however, Taylor got the next two batters out to send the game into extra innings. A two-out walk and an error in the 10th set up Rytting for a go-ahead single that put the Tigers in front 7-6, but Berry also scored in the bottom half to keep the game alive. Both teams left two runners on in the 11th and the game moved to the 12th. Haynes led off the inning with a solo homer that wound up being the game-winning run. Berry fought to the end, beginning with a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning. Beck came in for Taylor and got the next batter out, then the runner at second was caught stealing at third. Beck closed the game with a strikeout and the Tigers clinched the series.
Game two started off with a bang as Jones doubled and Baker singled to put two of the first three hitters on base. Baker smashed a two-run double to give Trinity the early 2-0 lead. Berry led off the bottom of the first with a hit, then stole second and moved to third on an error. That led to an RBI groundout to make it a 2-1 game. Moss doubled to open the second and the Tigers got the run back right away on Rytting's RBI groundout. The scoring continued as Berry scored another unearned run after taking advantage of a passed ball and an error to make it 3-2. The Vikings tied the game in the third with a single, a steal, a sac bunt, and a sac fly.
Trinity looked to take control of the game in the fourth, scoring three runs on three hits to reclaim the lead. Lustina laced a run-scoring double to left-center to bring in Rytting, then Champness singled in Lustina for another Tiger run. After an error, Jones made it 6-3 with a sac fly to right. Beck gave up two hits early in the bottom of the fourth, then gave way to the bullpen. The Vikings got one run back to make it 6-4, but
Noah Flanagan (Norman, Okla. / Norman) stranded the tying run on base. Neither team got much more going until the seventh when Berry pulled back in front with a three-run inning of its own. A leadoff walk and back-to-back doubles tied the game at 6-all, then another hit put the Vikings in front 7-6.
The Tigers got two runners on in the eighth, but Berry got the next batter out and it looked like they would escape with the lead. Instead, Woodward was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting up Jones for a two-RBI single that put Trinity back in front of the seesaw game. Baker followed with another hit after that, and the score was 9-7 heading into the bottom of the eighth. The Vikings stranded a runner in the eighth but got the leadoff runner on base in the bottom of the ninth. That runner moved to second on a wild pitch but was thrown out trying to advance to third on a ground ball to shortstop for the first out. Hoggatt struck out the next hitter before the runner stole second to move into scoring position. Berry got one run in on an RBI single after that to put the tying run on base, hoping for a walkoff win or extra innings. Hoggatt had other plans, though, getting a strikeout to end the game and the weekend series.
Up Next
The Tigers will be back on the road on Tuesday albeit just up the road in Austin, Texas. Trinity faces off against Concordia University (TX) at 6:00 p.m. for the second straight week, with the Tornados earning a 5-4 win in San Antonio on March 31.
