#RV TLU Baseball Drops Series Opener to St. Thomas

SUGAR LAND, Texas -- #RV Texas Lutheran Baseball dropped the series opener to the St. Thomas Celts, 15-12, on Thursday at Constellation Field.

The Bulldogs (20-8) return to Constellation Field on Friday for a doubleheader to close out the three-game series with the Celts. First pitch is scheduled for 4 PM with the games being streamed on FloSports. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

Cooper Jen (Kyle/Hays) went 2-for-5 with a grand slam, while Brayen Sprencel (Robstown/Calallen) was 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Kash Durkin (Liberty Hill/Liberty Hill) finished 1-for-4 with a two-RBI triple.

Garret Nedd (Sealy/Sealy) started and pitched 2.1 innings, allowing nine runs on nine hits and three walks. Isaiah Ramirez (San Antonio/Marshall) earned the losing decision, tossing 4.2 innings in relief and allowing six runs (two earned) on ten hits.

St. Thomas got off to a hot start, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead.

The Bulldogs quickly got two runs back on an RBI single from Sprencel before he would score on a wild pitch in the second inning. After a leadoff single and a walk put two runners on, Kash Durkin hit a two-RBI triple to give the Bulldogs their first lead in the third. Sprencel recorded his second RBI single of the night in the thrid before one of six St. Thomas errors on the night led to the final run of the inning as the Bulldogs lead extended to 6-3.

St. Thomas responded with six runs on five hits in the bottom of the third to take a 9-6 lead.

Cooper Jen launched a grand slam in the fifth to put the Bulldogs out in front 10-9 before the Celts responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

A two-run Celts homer in the eighth provided the final runs of the game for the Celts.

Texas Lutheran attempted to rally in the ninth with back-to-back singles to start the inning before Sprencel drove in his third run of the game with an RBI fielder's choice. A two-out RBI single from Tyler Helpenstill (Pearland/Lutheran South) attempted to keep the rally going but that is where the rally would end with the final score of 15-12.

For more information on Texas Lutheran baseball and all TLU athletics, you can find updates on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics and @TLU_Baseball on X (Twitter), @tlubulldogs on Facebook, and @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok).