Three-Run Eighth Propels Texas Lutheran Past Southwestern in SCAC Tourney Opener

Three-Run Eighth Propels Texas Lutheran Past Southwestern in SCAC Tourney Opener

CLEBURNE, Texas - Trailing late, top-seeded Texas Lutheran University needed three runs in the bottom of the eighth to overtake fourth-seeded Southwestern University, 4-2, in the opening game of the 2019 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Friday night. Official Website l Bracket l Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview w/ Head Coach Greg Burnett and Thomas Varner

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Texas Lutheran dented the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third after a Thomas Varner single scored Trey Albaugh who had led off the inning with a single of his own.
  • Southwestern took the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth. A ground-rule double by Ted Lobkowicz scored Seth Sparks and then a Hayden Craig double that fell just out of the reach of a diving Austin Colon scored Lobkowicz to give the Pirates a 2-1 advantage.
  • That margin held until the bottom of the eighth when the Bulldogs mounted a two-out rally, culminating with an RBI single by Albaugh to tie the game and another RBI single by Varner to give TLU the lead. The Bulldogs plated another run - an unearned one - and took the lead and eventual win by the 4-2 margin.
  • The game was a pitcher's dual for most of the afternoon as Southwestern's Austin Smith and TLU's Nathan Malinovsky went 7.2 and 8.1 innings, respectively.

TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

  • Thomas Varner: 3-3, 2 RBI
  • Trey Albaugh: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 run
  • Nathan Malinovsky: 8.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, 1 BB

SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

  • Hayden Craig: 2-4 1 2B
  • Daniel Montgomery: 2-4, 1 2B
  • Ethan Hallmark: 2-4
  • Ted Lobkowicz: 1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI
  • Austin Smith: 7.2 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 10 K, 8 BB

NOTABLES

  • With the win, Malinovsky picked up career victory No. 33 and became the league's all-time leader in wins. He had shared the top spot and previous mark of 32 with Doug Garner of Millsaps College (2001-05). He also became TLU's career wins leader with the victory.
  • Texas Lutheran, the defending champion, is now 4-2 in first round SCAC tournament games.
  • Texas Lutheran and Southwestern have now faced each other six times in the SCAC Tournament with the Bulldogs holding a 4-2 record. 

UP NEXT

Texas Lutheran will move on to face the winner of No. 2-seed Trinity University and No. 3-seed Centenary College at Noon CT on Saturday afternoon, while Southwestern takes on the loser of that matchup in the following game.