SHREVEPORT, La. -- Southwestern scored three unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings and rode the arms of Jacob Kendra and Riley Wayland to a 3-2 win over Texas Lutheran to stave off elimination at the SCAC Baseball Championship. Official Website l Interactive Bracket l Jacob Kendra Interview l Head Coach RJ Thomas Interview l Photos
Kendra pitched six complete innings, allowing only two earned runs on four hits while striking out three. He improved to 5-1 on the season despite pitching on an achillies strain. Riley Wayland pitched the final three innings, earning his eighth save of the season, allowing no runs on no hits with one strikeout.
Texas Lutheran struck first in the second inning as a RBI triple from Matt King scored Klaus Bohrmann for an early 1-0 lead. Zach Jacobs made it 2-0 with a one out RBI single up the middle as the Bulldogs took control early on.
After a slow start, Southwestern would strike in the fourth inning as Chase Allen and Jared Bogosian drove in runs to tie the game at two. Austyn Laird would reach on an error and a run would score in the fifth to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
From there, the combination of Kendra and Wayland took control, shutting down the potent Bulldog offense. At one point, Kendra and Wayland sat down seven straight batters.
Ben Little led the way offensively for the Pirates, finishing 3-for-4 with a run scored and Robert Wehman, Clayton Sparks, and Coltem Shea all had two hits a piece for Southwestern.
For Texas Lutheran, Thomas Harwell took the loss for the Bulldogs, allowing two earned runs on four hits in the contest. Tony Gennusa led the offense, going 2-for-3 on the evening as King and Jacobs drove in the only two runs.
Southwestern will move on to play in an elimination game tomorrow night at 6 p.m., against the loser of the 2:30 p.m. game between Texas Lutheran and Trinity. The winner of the 6 p.m. game will move on to the SCAC Championship Game, needing two wins to win the title.
Texas Lutheran's season comes to a close at 25-14 and 15-3 in SCAC play.
