(Story courtesy of Trinity University)
AUSTIN, Texas - The Trinity Tiger baseball team earned a 4-2 victory over the University of Texas-Tyler at the NCAA West Region Tournament on Thursday night. Official Site | Box Score
Trinity earned its 38th victory of the season, which breaks the school record for a single season. The Tigers previously won 37 games in 2002, 2004, and 2012, but had never surpassed that total before tonight.
Zack Speer improved his record to 9-0 this season, pitching the second straight complete game for the Tiger pitching staff. Speer scattered seven hits over nine innings, giving up two runs, and striking out eight batters.
The offense was paced by Jonathan Hall and Connor Moore, who accounted for five of Trinity's eight hits. Moore was 2-3 with a double and a triple, while Hall picked up three extra-base hits on the night. Hall finished 3-4 with a run and two RBI, cracking two doubles and a triple.
UT-Tyler took the early lead after a solo home run in the first inning, and that lead held until the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Pat Hirschberg tied the game with a solo shot of his own. That round-tripper was the only hit of the ballgame for Hirschberg.
In the fifth, Hall doubled home a pair of runs to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead, then he tripled and scored on a balk in the eighth to put Trinity ahead 4-1. The Patriots scored a run on two hits in the ninth, but Speer was able to close the door and finish off the victory.
Trinity, ranked sixth nationally, will face top-ranked Linfield College tomorrow at 12 p.m. The winner will advance to Saturday's regional final. The losing team will face either UT-Tyler or Cal Lutheran at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
