ROME, Ga. – The #1 seed Trinity University baseball team was eliminated from the Southern Athletic Association Tournament in a 3-2 loss to #2 seed Rhodes College (TN) on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (25-19) and the Lynx (29-14) met for the fourth time this season and Rhodes won three of the four meetings – the last two by just one run. Trinity finished 2-2 at its first SAA Tournament, losing both games by a single run. The Tigers were limited to just five hits and left five runners on base in the game. Neither team scored again after the fifth inning, when Rhodes broke a 2-2 tie and took the lead for good.
Matthew Azordegan (Madison, Miss. / St. Andrew's Episcopal) was charged with the loss and fell to 0-2 this season, allowing three runs on two hits over the first 4.2 innings, and striking out eight batters.
Will Taylor (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Cherry Creek) pitched 4.1 shutout innings to close the game, allowing just four hits and recording four strikeouts.
The Tigers took the lead with a run in the first inning thanks to an RBI single from
Will Baker (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point).
Kaleb Woodward (San Pedro, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) led off the bottom of the first with a walk and then stole second and moved to third on an error. Baker followed with his hit and then stole second.
Sawyer Haynes (Waco, Texas / Midway) was hit by a pitch to put two runners on and both Haynes and Baker stole second and third to move into scoring position, but Rhodes got an inning-ending strikeout to keep it a 1-0 game.
The first hit of the game for the Lynx was a game-tying home run in the top of the second and the Tigers went down in order in the bottom of the inning. Rhodes took the lead with a walk and a double with one out, but Trinity matched that score in the bottom of the inning. Woodward was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and then
Thomas Moss (Sugar Land, Texas / Kempner) doubled to tie the game at 2-2. The Tigers put two more runners on after a double play but could not pull ahead.
Azordegan struck out two but also walked two batters to start the top of the fifth and Taylor came on in relief. Rhodes delivered a two-out double to break the tie and take a 3-2 lead that turned out to be the final run of the game. Trinity stranded a runner on base in the fifth, hit into a double play in the sixth, and stranded another runner in the seventh. Rhodes got the Tigers out in order in the eighth and ninth to close out the game and earn the win.
Up Next
Trinity is eliminated from the tournament and will wait for a potential at-large bid to the NCAA Playoffs. Rhodes moves on to face Centre in the SAA Championship game this afternoon.
