Jimenez, Post Shine as Bulldogs Sweep Saturday Doubleheader Against No. 25 ETBU

SEGUIN, Texas -- Following a 12-10 win on Friday, Texas Lutheran baseball took care of business in Saturday's doubleheader against No. 25 East Texas Baptist, winning both games at Katt-Isbel Field scoring a combined 31 runs between both games to improve to 9-6 on the year.

Junior shortstop Joe Jimenez (San Antonio/Johnson) continued his impressive weekend at the plate hitting three home runs and tallying seven RBI on a four-for-five effort from the plate in game one. His three home runs match the Texas Lutheran baseball program record for home runs in a game - tying: Riley Schaefer (v. Texas Dallas, 2018), Drew Farr (v. Schreiner, 2008), Aaron Crais (v. Howard Payne, 2005), and Aaron Merhoff (v. Huston-Tillotson, 1999).

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 14-3 win in the 7-inning game one aided by a seven run fifth inning. Texas Lutheran scored in every inning but the first and fourth inning and lead 10-2 entering the sixth inning to give themselves a comfortable advantage. By game's end, eight different Bulldogs had scored runs as TLU improved to 8-6 on the year.

The Texas Lutheran offense was powered by a banner day from Joe Jimenez who went four-for-four with three home runs, seven RBI, and four runs scored in the game. Junior Payton Dahl (Round Rock/Cedar Ridge) would add three RBI in the form of a textbook squeeze bunt to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead entering the third inning and a 2 RBI single in the fifth to extend the Bulldogs lead to 10-2.

Zach Longshore (Richmond/Fort Bend Travis) would earn the win, the first of his collegiate career, after five solid innings of work. The freshman left-hander surrendered two runs, one unearned, on three hits and one walk, striking out five on the day. Brendan Beard (New Waverly/Coldspring-Oakhurst) would finish the game tossing two innings in relief.

After TLU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second, the Tigers would keep it a game through the top of the fifth, trailing 3-2 before the Bulldogs exploded for a seven run bottom of the fifth and pouring on four more runs in the sixth to ice the game.

Texas Lutheran completed Saturday's doubleheader with another dominant performance, besting the 25th-ranked Tigers 17-6 in the second game of the day - extending their win streak to eight games.

After East Texas Baptist would chase AJ Briscoe (Blanco/Blanco) after two-thirds of an inning, Logan Fisher (Thorndale/Thorndale) would take the mound for the Bulldogs and toss five and one-third innings, only allowing one run on four hits and striking out four Tigers to pick up the win - his first of the season.

The duo of Tyler Post (San Antonio/Johnson) & Joe Jimenez provided a major boost at the plate in the middle of the Bulldogs lineup. The San Antonio natives and Johnson High School alums combined for nine RBIs going six-of-eleven at the plate. Six of the RBIs came from Post as the sophomore first baseman ended the game a triple short of the cycle with four hits in six plate appearances. Aric Vasquez (San Antonio/Brandeis) also had two hits and two RBIs in the game.

Texas Lutheran would score in every inning but the second and fifth with Tyler Post getting the scoring started in the first inning with a 2 RBI double that trimmed the Tigers lead to 3-2. The Bulldogs would score 8 unanswered runs over the course of three innings. A solo home run from ETBU in the fourth would cut the Bulldogs lead to 8-4 but the combination of Logan Fisher and JT Taylor (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Christian) would keep the Tigers off the scoreboard from the fifth through eighth innings as the Bulldogs extended their lead to a comfortable 17-4 entering the ninth inning.

Joe Jimenez would conclude the series with five home runs, 14 RBI, two doubles, 10 runs, and eight hits in 13 plate appearances. As of this writing, Jimenez is leading all of Division-III with eight home runs and is ranked in the top five in runs batted in - leading the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) in both categories.

Up next, Texas Lutheran will open conference play with a weekend series against Centenary College, March 18-19, at Katt-Isbel Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 PM on Friday, March 18 followed by a Saturday doubleheader at 12 PM and 3:30 PM. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

All updates on game status and more can be found on tlubulldogs.com as well as all official Texas Lutheran Athletics accounts. For more information on Texas Lutheran baseball and all TLU athletics, you can find updates on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics and @TLU_Baseball on Twitter, @tlubulldogs on Instagram and Facebook, and @tlu_athletics on TikTok).