Posted: May 07, 2022
CLEBURNE, Texas - Fourth-seeded University of St. Thomas rallied from a 4-1 deficit by scoring four runs in the final two innings to rally for a victory that eliminated second-seeded Texas Lutheran University from the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Baseball Championship on Saturday evening. Official Website l Tournament Stats l Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Texas Lutheran’s Alec Sanchez got the scoring started with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, then a St. Thomas error two batters later allowed Sanchez to score to make it 2-0 Bulldogs.
- St. Thomas broke up the shutout with a run in the top of the fourth when Jason Brown drew a walk with the bases loaded.
- The Bulldogs got that run back in the bottom half of the inning, taking advantage of another UST error – this time on a sacrifice bunt to make it 3-1 after four complete.
- Blake Cappadona gave Texas Lutheran another run with his RBI single with two outs in the sixth, which was the largest lead of the game for either team.
- The Celts began their rally in the top of the eighth, as Tristan Pitkin laced a single through the right side of the infield to score two runs and bring UST within one at 4-3.
- St. Thomas tied the game on Leo Galvan’s RBI double with one out in the inning, then took the lead when Cameron McClure drove in the eventual game-winning run with two outs in the inning .
UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Tristan Pitkin: 1-3, 2 RBI, 1 run
- Cameron McClure: 1-4, 1 RBI
- Noah Martinez: 1-2, 1 run
- Jason Brown: 1 RBI
- Chris Parsons (W): 8.0 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, 7 K
- Kameron Craig (SV): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 K
TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Payton Dahl: 2-4
- Blake Cappadona: 1-3, 1 RBI
- Alec Sanchez: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 run
- Zach Longshore: 4.0 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 6
NOTABLES
- The win marks the first SCAC Tournament victory in program history for the Celts.
- St. Thomas is the first SCAC program to win an SCAC Tournament contest other than Centenary, Southwestern, Texas Lutheran or Trinity since Dallas defeated Austin College in game six of the 2013 event.
- St. Thomas is looking to be the 12th different team to lose its opening contest and get into the championship round.
- Texas Lutheran dropped its first two tournament games for the first time since 2017 after advancing to the championship round in the previous three tournaments.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will take on Trinity in a rematch of the opening game of the Tournament. The winner advances to take on Centenary College in Sunday’s SCAC Championship Game at Noon CT.
