This past weekend, Trinity Baseball took two of three games against the Texas Lutheran University (TLU) Bulldogs. The Tigers lost in game one in a 5-0 shutout but responded nicely with a walk-off victory in game two and a win in game three. With the series victory, Trinity currently holds the top spot in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).
The Tigers dropped game one largely because of inconsistency on offense. Trinity only mustered three hits in the game, as they were unable to solve the mystery of TLU starting pitcher Brendan Beard. Beard pitched a complete game, tossing a career-high 161 pitches in the win. The game-one victory was TLU’s eighth in a row, ending a nine-game winning streak for the Tigers.
Trinity looked to respond in game two, and they got off to a good start. At the bottom of the first, first-year outfielder Caleb Woodward launched an opposite-field home run to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The home run was Woodward’s second of the year, and he eventually drove in another run to extend the lead to two. TLU responded with the Bulldogs scoring five consecutive runs to take a 5-2 lead, putting themselves in a position to take the series.
While Trinity was down, they were not out of the game. The Tigers got off the mat and responded, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at five. In game two, the Tigers got to the bullpen of Texas Lutheran, which surrendered the lead as soon as they were called upon.
Neither squad could score in the eighth or ninth innings, sending the Tigers to their first extra-innings game of the season. Junior pitcher Will Hellings held the Bulldogs scoreless in the 10th, capping off an 80-pitch relief outing — by far his season high. Then, senior infielder Christian Holloway ended the game with a walk-off blast over the left-field wall, securing a 6-5 Tiger victory in game two.
The two teams then played the rubber match: game three to decide the series victory. The game was close until the fifth inning when the Tiger bats got going, scoring three runs in the fifth. The strong frame was capped off by a two-run shot from senior outfielder Jack Peterson. The home run was Peterson’s sixth of the season and gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead.
However, similar to the Tigers in game two, the Bulldogs battled back. TLU scored three runs in the next half-inning, closing the deficit to one run and putting the outcome in doubt. Trinity had one more rally in them, matching Texas Lutheran’s three-run frame for one of their own. This widened the margin back to four and secured the victory.
TLU is the reigning regular season SCAC champion, making this an important series victory for the Tigers. The Bulldogs still find themselves in fourth place in the SCAC standings, meaning a place in the conference tournament is theirs for the taking. Trinity showed their ability to score timely runs against a quality team and now controls their own destiny to take the SCAC regular season title. They can clinch a spot in the four-team tournament this weekend against the University of Dallas.
