Story courtesy of Texas Lutheran University Sports Information
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Sixth-ranked Texas Lutheran University Baseball battled and came out victorious with a 9-8 win over Concordia (Texas) Thursday evening in the third game of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Spokane, Wash. Regional.
The Bulldogs won their seventh consecutive game to improve to 35-9 overall.
Dylan Drgac started on the mound for TLU and lasted 6-1/3, allowing 10 hits and striking out nine. Reliever Drew Waller secured his fourth win of the season with 1-2/3 innings of work. Waller (4-2) allowed two earned runs, scattered three hits and struck out two. Dylan Murrell pitched the final inning, striking out one.
The Bulldogs took an early lead with two runs in the first inning, and tacked on two more in the third on a two-run home run from Matthew Lemon to extend the lead to 4-0.
TLU added two more runs in the top half of the sixth before CTX scored two runs of their own off two straight wild pitches with runners on third to cut the deficit to 6-2.
The Tornados then erupted in the seventh inning with five runs to take the lead for the first time in the game. CTX took a 7-6 lead heading into the eighth.
The Bulldogs rallied back quickly as they responded with two runs in the top half of the eighth to re-take the lead. Eric Rabinowitz singled up the middle, and Keaton Boysen belted a shot to deep center field to bring in the two TLU runs. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the ninth to increase the lead to 9-7.
The Tornados continued to battle in the bottom half of the ninth with a lead-off double from Reed Carlton. Carlton scored on a RBI groundout from Alex Brtiz to cut the lead to one, but CTX was unable to add anymore and fell 9-8.
Boysen, Riley Schaefer, and Thomas Varner (Austin/Bowie) each went 3-for-5 in the contest. Boysen collect two doubles, drove three and scored one. Schaefer doubled, scored a run, and drove in one, and Varner plated a run, had a stolen base, and one RBI.
Spencer Brandt held strong behind the plate, and notched 12 putouts for the Bulldogs.
TLU will take on the No. 5 seed UT Dallas, who knocked off No. 2 Redlands 3-1, in game six at 6 p.m. PDT Friday.