(Story courtesy Trinity University)
ABILENE, Texas - The third-seeded Redlands (Calif.) Bulldogs edged the No. 4 Trinity University Tigers 3-2 Wednesday night on the opening day of the double-elimination NCAA Division III West Regional at McMurry University. Box Score | Official Site
Trinity (33-12) takes on sixth-seeded Concordia at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Walt Driggers Field. Concordia upset top seed Linfield 5-2 in the opening game of the six-team tournament. Redlands (29-12) meets second-seeded Chapman at 7:30 p.m.
Tiger catcher Kyle Felix (1-4) was responsible for both of Trinity's runs. Felix cracked an RBI single to right field in the fourth inning, and picked up his second RBI on an eighth-inning ground out to first. Felix became the third player in SCAC history to record 200 RBI in a career, hitting the milestone on the nose.
Shortstop Christian Muscarello batted 2-4 for the Tigers, who are competing in their sixth NCAA postseason tournament.
Right-hander Michael Panozzo (5-1) went the distance, and had his first loss of the season.
Redlands scored three runs in the fifth inning, taking over the lead. The Tigers threatened to tie the game in the eighth inning, but Redlands prevailed with the bases loaded.
Trinity collected five hits and made two errors, while Redlands had six hits and three errors.