Baseball

(Story courtesy of Trinity University)

MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Trinity University rallied for a 10-9 extra-inning victory over the University of Dallas, at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday evening. Box Score | Official Site

Trinity improves to 34-8 with the victory, which was the team's third extra-inning win of the season. 

After Dallas took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Tigers came back with two runs in the fifth to pull ahead briefly.  Dallas quickly answered with an emphatic six-run fifth inning to go up by five runs over the West Division's top seed. 

Trinity was able to get four of the runs back in the top of the sixth, but then Dallas made it 8-6 with an insurance run in the bottom of the inning.

In the ninth, Trinity's first two batters reached on base hits, then Kelly Woodruff recorded his 13th sacrifice bunt of the season to drive in a run to make it 8-7.  After an intentional walk to Christian Muscarello, Nick Pappas crushed the first pitch to the gap in right-center field for a two-run double that put the Tigers ahead 9-8.

With its tournament life on the line, Dallas rallied for a run in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a two-base error that followed a leadoff walk - scoring on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 9-9.

Neither team scored again until the 11th, when Woodruff led off the inning with a double to right field.  After Muscarello's sacrifice to move Woodruff to third, Pappas picked up the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly to right field.  Dallas put the tying run on in the 11th, but Trinity held on for the win.

Pappas led Trinity with three RBI, while Kevin Francke had two hits and two RBI for the Tigers.  Kevin Clements also had two hits, scoring two runs.  Muscarello scored two runs, while Dominick Robusto and Ryan Schweers both picked up a pair of hits.

Woodruff was 2-3 with two runs and one RBI, drawing two walks to reach base four times.  Both of his hits were for extra bases, hitting a double and a triple in the game.

Franklin Bay started the game for Trinity, going 4.1 innings, and allowing two runs on three hits.  Later in the fifth, senior Weston Haaf came on in relief.  Haaf threw 3.1 innings, giving up just two runs - one earned - on four hits, and striking out a pair of batters.

Michael Bentz (5-1) got the win for the Tigers, allowing no runs on just one hit over the final three innings. 

Trinity advances to tomorrow's action at the SCAC Baseball Championships, against either Birmingham-Southern or Rhodes.  Dallas is eliminated from the tournament.

After the game, SCAC Director of Sports Information Jeff DeBaldo caught up with both Trinity head coach Tim Scannell and Dallas head coach Fraser Holmes.

To listen to Trinity head coach Tim Scannell, click here.

To listen to Dallas head coach Fraser Holmes, click here.