KERRVILLE, Texas - The Austin College baseball team split a pair of slugfests on Saturday, coming from eight runs down to topple the Mountaineers 21-15 in game one before falling 18-14 in game two. The 'Roos are now 10-11 overall and 4-5 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
Schreiner exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the second in game one to take an 8-0 lead, and that's how things would remain until the top of the fourth. Austin College erupted for a huge inning of its own, scoring seven in the frame to cut it to an 8-7 game. James Wyche lauched a 3-run homer in the inning and Brett Taff doubled home two more runs. Schreiner got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning to push it to a 10-7 game, but Austin College plated six more in the fifth, including a 2-run single by Justin Alphonse to put the 'Roos ahead 13-10.
The Mountaineers cut it to 13-12 heading into the seventh, but once again Austin College responded with a big inning, plating six more runs to make it a 19-12 lead. Wyche and Taff each drove in a pair of runs in the frame. Schreiner cut it to 19-13 before two more runs came across for the 'Roos in the ninth to make it 21-13, giving Austin College the most runs the program has ever scored in a SCAC game. The previous high was 19, which was done multiple times and most recently in 2010 against Millsaps.
Schreiner got two runs across in the bottom of the ninth but that's as close as things would get. Taff finished 3-for-4 with six RBI and four runs scored, and Wyche drove in five runs and finished 2-for-5. Nick Flynn and James Arguello each had three hits in the victory. Jeffrey Williams homered three times to lead Schreiner offensively.
Austin College jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the top of the first in game two, but Schreiner would score 11 unanswered, including six in the second and four in the third to go ahead 11-4. Austin College got two runs back in the fourth and six more came across in the sixth to put the 'Roos on top 12-11. However, Schreiner would respond with six runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning, putting the Mountaineers ahead 17-12, and another run would score following a throwing error in the seventh.
The 'Roos got two runs back in the top of the ninth but would strand a pair of runners as the comeback bid fell short. Ryan Scruggs took the loss for Austin College, surrendering four runs on two hits in 0.2 innings of work in relief. Cody Goggins came up just short of hitting for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a double, a triple, and four runs batted in. Josh Boring tripled twice, and Nick Flynn and Jake Tidwell each added a triple in the loss as Austin College racked up eight extra base hits.