(Story Courtesy of Trinity Sports Information Department)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - 13th-ranked Trinity baseball team lost twice to 16th-ranked University of La Verne in the NCAA Regional best-of-five series on Saturday, falling 15-6 and 12-3.
The Tigers fell to 32-14 this season, while the Leopards improved to 29-14-1 and took a 2-1 lead in the weekend series. Trinity won the opener 18-9 on Friday afternoon.
In the opening game, La Verne erased an early Trinity lead with a pair of runs in the third, then exploded for eight runs in the fourth to take control for good. The second game of the doubleheader saw La Verne's offense continue its hot streak, scoring in all but the 2nd and 9th innings and leading by as many as 12 runs. The Leopards also held the Tiger offense in check by taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
Maddox McDonald and Nicholas Lazzara had half of Trinity's eight hits in the first game, as both Tiger hitters went 2-for-4. Both of Lazzara's hits were doubles, while McDonald and Matthew McNaney also picked up doubles in the game. McNaney's came as a pinch-hitter late in the game, driving in a pair of runs.
Joseph Chavana took the loss in the opener to fall to 7-4 this season, allowing seven runs on four hits through 3.1 innings. Jack Briese suffered the loss in game two to fall to 3-2 on the year, allowing four runs – only three earned – on seven hits in his 2.2 innings of work.
Lazzara picked up his third hit of the day to lead off the eighth inning and break up the no-hit bid by La Verne. Colt Harris then broke up the shutout two batters later with a two-run homer to make it a 12-2 game at the time. The Tigers picked up another run in the 9th, but an out made on the base paths secured the victory for La Verne.
Up Next
Trinity and La Verne will meet again at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow to decide the Regional Champion. La Verne needs just one win to move to the Super Regionals, while the Tigers would need to win twice to advance.
