SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College baseball team got off to a rough start and never recovered in their doubleheader against Texas Lutheran, falling 22-4 in game one and 17-0 in game two. The 'Roos are now 9-10 overall and 0-5 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
Texas Lutheran took advantage of three first inning errors in game one to put 10 runs on the board in the top of the first, despite getting just three hits in the inning. With three walks and two hit batters along with those errors, the Bulldogs managed to put five runs on the board before recording a hit.
Austin College bounced back with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to trim it to a 10-4 game, as Scott Gelbart, Austin Dudley, and Thomas Oberg each notched an RBI single and Jeremy Halford brought home a run with a sacrifice fly. However, that would be the last run of the game for Austin College.
TLU plated one run in each of the next two innings to make it 12-4 heading into the fourth, and three more runs crossed in that inning to make it 15-4. Then in the fifth, two more errors opened the door for a six run inning as the Bulldogs went on top 21-4. TLU would tack on one final run in the sixth before the game ended in the seventh due to the 10-run rule.
Brett Moody surrendered 10 runs – only two earned – on two hits in 0.1 innings pitched to take the loss. Oscar Gonzalez, James Arguello, and Oberg each collected two hits in the game to lead Austin College offensively. Four different players had hits for TLU, while Lincoln Baylor pitched a complete game to get the win.
In game two things got off to a much better start for the 'Roos with Josh Lewis striking out the first four batters he faced, but an RBI double by Trenton Ray in the second put TLU on the board, and the Bulldogs erupted for six runs in the third, including a two-run homer from Ray to make it 7-0. Justin Law added a three-run homer in the fourth as TLU plated four more runs in that inning to go ahead 11-0.
In the fifth inning the Bulldogs would add six more runs, and once again an error opened the door for the big offensive outburst with five of those six runs coming unearned. Colby Schrade capped things off with a two-run, inside the park home run to make it 17-0.
Lewis gave up 11 runs, all earned, on nine hits in 3.0 innings of work to take the loss. Gonzalez and Halford each went 2-for-3 for Austin College. Ray led TLU with a 3-for-4 performance, while Nathan Malinovsky pitched 6.0 innings of shutout ball for the victory.
Austin College and the Bulldogs will wrap up the three game set tomorrow with a single game set for a noon first pitch.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.