SEGUIN, Texas -- Third-ranked Trinity University got a quailty start out of left-hander Ryan Gray and pushed across four runs late to hold off a scrappy Southwestern University team and take home the program's fourth-straight SCAC Baseball Tournament title with an 8-3 victory Sunday afternoon at Katt-Isbel Field. Official Website l Postgame Interview w/ Ryan Gray, Nick Jewett & Coach Tim Scannell
Gray took a perfect game into the fifth before issuing a walk to the Pirates' Colby Schmidt. He still had a no-hitter until the seventh, but, after two walks gave Southwestern runners at first and second, Ben Little emptied the bases with a three-run bomb to right center to cut the Tigers' lead to 4-3 and chase Gray from the game.
Trinity responded, however, with a Drew Butler RBI single and, the big blow of the inning, a bases-clearing, two-out double by George Haaland that scored three more and gave the Tigers a comfortable 8-3 lead.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Trinity's Ryan Gray carried a perfect game into the fifth and a no-hitter into the seventh to earn the win.
- Nick Jewett hit his second home run of the tourney - a two-run shot - in the bottom of the third that gave Trinity a 4-0 lead.
- Ben Little's three-run home run in the top of the seventh cut the Trinity lead to 4-3.
- Andrew Hoffman pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn his second save of the season.
- Trinity left seven runners on base while Southwestern only stranded one.
- Trinity out-hit Southwestern, 10-2.
- Neither team committed an error, the only errorless game of the tournament.
TRINITY UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Nick Jewett: 2-2, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs
- George Haaland: 2-3, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB
- Drew Butler: 1-2, 2 RBI, 1 run
- Colin Serkowski: 2-4, 1 run
- Ryan Gray: 6.2 IP, 3 R, 1 hit, 11 K, 4 BB
SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Ben Little: 1-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 run
- Austyn Laird: 1-3
- Colby Schmidt: 0-2, 1 run, 2 BB
NOTABLES
- Trinity is the first program in the SCAC era to win four straight baseball tournament championships. Millsaps won five straight from 1990-1994, but the first two came while the league was known as the CAC. Washington (Mo.) University won four straight two different times (also in the CAC)...1963-1966 and again from 1968-1971.
- This game marked the seventh time Southwestern and Trinity have played for the SCAC baseball championship - including a four-year stretch where the two played every year (1997-2000). With today's result, Southwestern has walked away with four titles while Trinity has three.
- Trinity and Southwestern lead all active schools in SCAC baseball championships. Trinity has 12 (tops among all schools) and Southwestern has five (sixth among all schools).
- With the victory, Trinity also receives the league's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Last season, Trinity advanced to the Division III World Series for the first time in program history and came within one game of competing in the best-of-three championship series.
2016 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Drew Butler, Trinity University (Catcher)
- Nick Jewett, Trinity University (First Baseman)
- Ethan Luna, Southwestern University (First Baseman)
- Colin Serkowski, Trinity University (Second Baseman)
- Connor Moore, Trinity University (Shortstop)
- Ian Graham, Centenary College (Third Baseman)
- Will Cates, Southwestern University (Outfielder)
- Michael Schimpf, Centenary College (Outfielder)
- Andrew Waters, Trinity University (Outfielder)
- Tyler Bludau, Southwestern University (Designated Hitter)
- Nathan Malinovsky, Texas Lutheran University (Starting Pitcher)
- Mike Walker, Trinity University (Starting Pitcher)
- Kevin Flores, Trinity University (Relief Pitcher)
UP NEXT
As the league's automatic qualifier, Trinity (35-7) heads to a Regional Tournament, to be held May 18-22/22, at a predetermined site. Regionally-ranked Texas Lutheran (sixth in the last NCAA West Region rankings) will await word of a possible at-large selection.
Each regional champion books a ticket to Appleton, Wisc., for the championship round that will be held May 27-31.
