The Trinity baseball team played a three-game series against Schreiner University last weekend. The Tigers entered the three-game set with a record of 22-10 on the year.
The Tigers won the first game of the series 12-2 in a game shortened by the run-rule. Austin Singer led the offense hitting two home runs in the first game for his seventh and eighth of the year. Drew Butler also hit a home run for Trinity in the third inning. Butler finished the game two for three, with four RBIs. Matt Tindell started game one and earned the victory, giving up only two runs in five innings. Teddy Turner and Michael Maul finished the game for the Tigers.
“The pitching staff went out and did exactly what they needed to win the games in the fashion that we did. We were able to shut down their offense by pounding the strike zone and having the defense pick us up when they did make contact,” Turner said.
The Tigers took the second game of the series, winning 6-3. Ryan Gray started the game and threw six innings, allowing one run while striking out six batters.
Zach Speer pitched the last three innings of the game. Butler hit his second home run of the series, Colin Serkowski and Jeremy Wolf each supplied a run, scoring double for the offense. Connor Moore went three for four and scored two runs during the second game.
“The offense looked really good this weekend. Our batters looked really relaxed at the plate and turned in some really good at-bats. It’s pretty cool to see our offense score runs like that.It makes us aware of what we are capable of as a team,” said outfielder Scott Walters.
The final game of the series was a 9-0 shutout. Carter McEachern hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. Liam Rihela also hit a home run in the eighth inning. Rihela’s home run was his first of the year and the first of his Trinity baseball career.
Trinity put up seven runs in the first five innings, which was more than enough for starting pitcher Trent Rape. Rape pitched six innings, allowing three hits and striking out five batters. Speer, Turner and Nick Griffith finished the shutout. As a whole, the staff allowed only six hits.
“The pitching staff is starting to get comfortable with who they are and what they do well. Overall, I thought the pitching staff threw very well. The key, however, is learning what things they need to sharpen up before the conference tourney. If they want to have a special end to the year, they have to be clicking on all cylinders come post season,” said pitching coach Dave Smith.
The Tigers then faced off against McMurry University on Tuesday, April 21 in Abilene, Texas. They fell 12-4 to the War Hawks.
Trinity hosts a three-game weekend series against Austin College starting April 25. The series concludes on Sunday when the senior players will be honored.
“Are they competitive enough to play the game one pitch and one inning at a time? If they do that, we could be playing for quite a while longer,” Smith said.
