CLEBURNE, Texas -- Texas Lutheran used a six-hit, seven-run second inning, which extended from Saturday night to Sunday morning due to a weather delay, to advance to the championship round of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game with a 12-6 elimination game victory over Centenary. Official Website l Tournament Stats l Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In a game that began on Saturday evening but had to be resumed on Sunday morning due to inclement weather in the area, Texas Lutheran held a 4-0 lead and had the bases loaded in the top of the second when lightning caused stoppage and the eventual suspension of play.
- When play resumed, a Tyler Post ground out scored one run and a single from Niko Garcia pushed across two more to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.
- The Gents responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second and two more in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 7-4, but TLU's Brendan Beard entered and got the final out of the third to eventually push back the Centenary threat.
- Beard, who had worked 3.1 innings on Friday night to close out Southwestern, went the rest of the way, scattering six hits and allowing two earned runs while striking out nine. He retired 11 straight Centenary batters over one stretch from the second to seventh innings.
- Post's second home run of the game, a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, capped the scoring for the Bulldogs. The 2023 SCAC Player-of-the-Year finished the day with two home runs and five runs batted in.
TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Tyler Post: 2-5, 5 RBI, 2 runs, 2 HR
- Niko Garcia: 3-4, 2 RBI, 1 run,
- Aric Vasquez: 2-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI
- Holden Philippus: 2-4, 2 runs, 1 2B, 1 RBI
- Brendan Beard (WP): 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 9 K, 0 BB
CENTENARY COLLEGE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Carson Livesay: 2-5, 2 RBI, 1 run
- Jake Gonce: 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 run
- Austyn Benoit: 2-4, 1 run
- Jobee Boone: 2-5, 1 RBI
- Gary Hewitt: 2-5
NOTABLES
- TLU's Post, with his two home run, five RBI performance, set the new SCAC single-tournament record with RBIs with 13 and tied the single-tournament home run record with four. The previous RBI mark was 11 established by Jeff Claydon of Trinity at the 2009 championship and two other players have had four-home run tournaments - Doug Grigar of Trinity in 1999 and Jeff Gabbert of Southwestern in 2002.
- Since 2014 the loser of game three (winner’s bracket final), has rebounded to reach the championship round seven of nine tournaments with TLU accomplishing the feat at this year's event.
- Texas Lutheran has advanced to the championship game five times in their program's history in the SCAC, with two titles to show for their four previous appearances.
- Centenary, the defending tournament champion, ends its season with a record of 23-15.
UP NEXT
Texas Lutheran improved to 29-14 with today's win, setting a rematch with Trinity in today's championship game. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT. TLU will need to defeat the Tigers twice to win its third SCAC tournament title in program history. This meeting will mark the fourth time Texas Lutheran and Trinity have squared off for the SCAC title with the Bulldogs emerging victorious in 2021 and the Tigers claiming the title in 2019 and 2014.
