TLU Baseball Rallies to Win Series Opener at Austin College

SHERMAN, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran Baseball team rallied for a 9-4 win over Austin College behind a five-run ninth inning Friday night at Baker Field in Sherman.

The Bulldogs (13-11, 2-5 SCAC) trailed 3-2 going into the eighth inning and scored two runs to take a 4-3 lead. After Austin College tied it in the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs scored five runs in the ninth to win the game.

Nolan McInvale (Poth/Poth) picked up his second win of the season, allowing one run on two hits over 2.1 innings. JT Taylor (Conroe/Fort Bend Christian) would get the start, allowing three runs on eight hits and five walks while striking out five.

Mason Goudeau (Liberty/Liberty) went 3-for-5 with a triple. Carson Draehn (Brenham/Brenham) went 2-for-5 with a double, three RBI, and one run scored, while Tyler Post (San Antonio/Johnson) went 1-for-5 with a two-RBI double.

Austin College jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, scoring the run on two hits.

The Bulldogs offense would be quiet through the first three innings until the fourth inning where a Carson Draehn RBI double would tie the game, 1-1.

Aric Vasquez (San Antonio/Brandeis) would drive in Chase Bourgeois (League City/Clear Falls) on an RBI groundout to give TLU their first lead in the fifth.

Austin College would regain the lead with two runs in the seventh, chasing starter JT Taylor, to take a 3-2 lead.

The Bulldogs quickly got two runs back in the top of the eighth with Tyler Post lining a two-RBI double to left center to take a 4-3 lead.

The 'Roos would tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth.

With the game in the balance, Texas Lutheran would score five runs on four hits and two Austin College errors in the ninth. Garrett Helpenstill (Pearland/Lutheran South) would lead off the inning with a single and Aric Vasquez would reach on an error to give TLU two early base runners. An RBI fielder's choice from Hayden Kesselring (New Braunfels/New Braunfels) would score pinch runner Aiden Spires (Fort Worth/Arlington Heights) to give TLU the lead. Adam Peavy (Houston/Memorial) would hit a sacrifice fly before a two-RBI single from Carson Draehn would double the Bulldogs lead to 8-4. Chase Bourgeois would cap the inning with an RBI single to score Draehn and bring the game to its final score of 9-4.

The Bulldogs and 'Roos will square off in a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 & 3 PM to conclude the series. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

For more information on Texas Lutheran baseball and all TLU athletics, you can find updates on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics and @TLU_Baseball on X (Twitter), @tlubulldogs on Facebook, and @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok).