(Story courtesy of Trinity University and Texas Lutheran University Sports Information Departments)
SEGUIN, Texas – The fourth-ranked Trinity University baseball team survived an elimination game at the NCAA Regional Tournament by defeating hosting Texas Lutheran University, 10-7, on Saturday.
Trinity fell behind almost immediately as Texas Lutheran started off the top of the first with three runs on three hits and three walks. Cole Irby, Joe Jimenez and Chad Curtis each had RBI for TLU in the first, and Tyler Cauley's solo homer in the third put the Bulldogs in front, 4-0.
The Tigers finally got on the board in the bottom of the third, stringing together a two-out rally with a run on three hits to make it a 4-1 game.
Trinity tied things up 4-4 with a three-run fourth inning that featured a pair of doubles among five total hits. Michael Goodrich finished off the scoring with his two-run double that tied the game.
Texas Lutheran regained control of the game with two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to go ahead 7-4 late in the game. The Tigers, however, rallied in a huge way in the bottom of the seventh, mixing in two home runs among five total hits to take a 10-7 lead.
Rafe Chaumette followed Jake Martin's leadoff single with a two-run home run, then the game was tied a few batters later on a wild pitch. Michael Goodrich gave the Tigers the lead with a game-winning, three-run home run to left field.
Texas Lutheran got a leadoff single in the ninth, but Trinity's defense got a double play on the next batter. A walk and a single then brought the tying run to the plate, but Mark Tindall induced a ground ball out to secure the Tiger victory.
The Tigers improved to 35-11 overall this season, including a 4-3 mark against the Bulldogs. Texas Lutheran finishes its season with a 31-14 mark after the loss.
Goodrich finished a standout day with five RBI, going 2-5 with a double and a three-run home run. The game-winning homer was his seventh of the season, tying him for the team lead. Chaumette was one of three Trinity players with three hits in the game, finishing 3-5 with a home run and two RBI. Dalys Binder and Logan Morrison both went 3-4 for the Tigers, with Binder picking up three hits for the second consecutive game.
Mark Tindall (6-0) earned the win with 4.0 innings of relief, stopping a potent Texas Lutheran offense that had piled up six runs on seven hits over the first five-plus innings. Tindall yielded just one run on four hits over the final four frames.
Jeff Lonnecker recorded seven strikeouts over the first five innings of the game.
In the victory over TLU, Trinity erased a 7-4 lead in the seventh with a six-run burst in the bottom of the inning. Rafe Chaumette hit a two-run home run to right, and Michael Goodrich followed later in the inning with a three-run shot to left field.
For TLU, Curtis went 3-for-5 on Saturday after going 2-for-3 Friday against Concordia Texas. Curtis drove in a pair of runs and scored a run Saturday. Jimenez also had three hits as the first-year shortstop scored a run and drove in a run.
Trinity put up 18 hits against TLU pitching.
The Tigers and Bulldogs played seven games in 2019, and Trinity won four of the seven. The run differential for the seven games was +2 for Trinity, 43 to 41.
Trinity awaits the results of this afternoon's game between Franklin (Ind.) College and Concordia (Texas) University. The Tigers face off against the losing team at 6:00 p.m.