CLEBURNE, Texas -- Top-seeded Trinity University scored seven runs in the opening inning and hung on for a 9-8 victory over second-seeded Texas Lutheran University to force a second and decisive game for the 2021 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Championship Sunday at The Depot at Cleburne Station. Official Website l Tournament Stats l Photo Gallery
This is the second consecutive championship that the two have met with Trinity coming into Sunday needing two victories over TLU to claim the conference title. The Tigers pulled off the task in '19, earning a pair of wins (9-3 and 6-5) on championship Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Trinity jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the top of the first, with a three-run home run by the Tigers' Michael Goodrich supplying the big blow.
- The Bulldogs battled back with two runs in the second and four more in the third to cut Trinity's lead to 8-6. Randy Huerta homered to left in the second and Cullen Motsinger had a bases loaded triple in the fourth.
- After the teams exchanged runs in the fifth, TLU put one more on the board in the bottom of the sixthon an RBI single by Huerta to close to within a run at 9-8.
- Pitching settled in the final four innings as Trinity's Jack Schmitt worked the final 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three to prserve the win. TLU's Brendan Beard calmed the Trinity bats with 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, alloiwng just two hits.
TRINITY UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Rafe Chaumette: 4-6, 2 runs
- MJ Metz: 2-4, 1 runs, 3 RBI
- Michael Goodrich, 1-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 1 home run
- Ezra Gore: 2-4, 1 RBI
- Jack Schmitt: 3.1 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB
TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Randy Huerta: 2-3, 3 runs, 3 RBI
- Cullen Motsinger: 2-3, 3 RBI
- Tyler Post: 1-3, 2 runs
- Brendan Beard: 4.2 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB
NOTABLES
- This is the fourth time in the four-team tournament era (2014 forward) that the team coming out of the loser's bracket has forced a decisive second game on Sunday. In those second games, the team that forced the second game is 2-1 in the final game. Trinity has been the team that forced the second game in all three occasions and completed the Sunday sweep in 2015 and 2019. The Tigers defeated Centenary once in 2017 before falling to the Gents in the second contest.
- Including this year, Trinity and Texas Lutheran have combined to win seven of the last eight SCAC Baseball Tournament Titles. This is the second-straight time and third time overall the two programs have met in the championship during that stretch.
- Through the first six games of the 2021 SCAC Baseball Tournament the teams have combined to score 110 runs setting a new tournament record for runs scored in the opening six games. The previous high was 102 set back in 2005.
UP NEXT
Trinity (28-6) and TLU (27-12) square off in a winner take all in Sunday's second game. Trinity is attempting to become the first repeat champion since the Tigers won four consecutive tournaments from 2013-2016.
