-Bryce Hayes, TLU Sports Information
(Alpine) – Texas Lutheran baseball swept a three-game road series at Sul Ross State over the weekend with 4-1 and 7-5 wins on Friday and a 10-9 come-from-behind win to close the set on Saturday.
Joe Burch pitched a complete game, throwing all seven innings of game one, striking out four batters to pick up his first win of the season. Burch walked two, allowed four hits, and just one earned run.
Joe Jimenez, last week’s Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Hitter of the Week and D3Baseball.com Team of the Week honoree, once again bolstered the Bulldogs offense with a two-run home run in the top of the fifth.
Texas Lutheran was the first on the board in the second when Aric Vasquez and Carson Draehn drove in runs.
Sul Ross State responded with a run of their own in the third to bring the Bulldogs lead to one prior to Jimenez’s two-run blast in the fifth.
Game two was a slugfest that saw the two teams combine for 23 hits.
Logan Fisher got the start for the Bulldogs and received some early run support courtesy of another RBI from Vasquez before allowing two runs in the bottom of the second. Zach Longshore would take the mound in relief of Fisher in the third inning and would also give up two runs in two innings of work.
The Bulldogs would claw back in the game following runs in the sixth and eighth – tying the ballgame at four-all.
Texas Lutheran would cross four runs in the top of the ninth to take a 7-5 lead. Brendan Beard would pick up the win, his second of the season, and Blade Strzelczyk would pick up his second save of the season – striking out two batters in the ninth.
In the Saturday finale, freshman Isai Campos got the start on the mound for the Bulldogs working two shutout innings in a game that saw the Bulldogs cycle through six pitchers on the afternoon. Keene Kreusler picked up the first win of his career in relief. Blake Cappadona picked up the save, his first of the season.
Payton Dahl jumpstarted the TLU offense in the top of the second with an RBI single. The Bulldogs would tack on another run in the third to take a 2-0 lead.
Sul Ross State got on the board in the fourth tying the game at two.
Tyler Post made it 4-2 with a two-RBI double in the fifth.
Sul Ross State would respond with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-4 lead.
A Holden Philippus solo home run in the seventh and two more runs in the eighth put TLU on top 7-5.
Sul Ross mounted a comeback in the bottom of the eighth, scoring four runs to take a 9-7 lead into the ninth inning.
TLU would respond with three runs in the top of the ninth. Randy Huerta started the rally following an inning opening single from Philippus with an RBI triple. A sacrifice fly from Tyler Post would tie the game 9-9, before an RBI single from Aric Vasquez would cross the game winning run. Cappadona would enter the game for the Bulldogs in the ninth – throwing a hitless inning to secure the save.
The Bulldogs return home to Katt-Isbel Field for four games this week. Texas Lutheran hosts DeSales at 6 PM Tuesday, March 8, before welcoming East Texas Baptist for a three-game set on March 11-12. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.