Baseball
 

May 17, 2008

Tigers Edged by Chapman in Championship Game

Abilene, Texas - Trinity's baseball team was edged by Chapman University 4-3 in the NCAA West Region Championship game on Saturday afternoon.

Trinity (35-15) ends its season with the loss, while Chapman will advance to the NCAA Division III College World Series. 

Chapman opened up a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second and single runs in the third and fourth innings.  Trinity starter Ryan Tamez (0-1) gave up two unearned runs in the second innings, and struck out three in his three innings of work.

Chapman's Matt Luzar pitched Chapman to victory with a complete game, striking out eight batters and allowing just three runs on eight hits.

The Tigers finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the sixth, then made it a one-run game with a score in the eighth inning.  Trinity also left eight runners on base in the game.

Kyle Felix nabbed two more hits in today's game, and led Trinity in hits for the tournament.  Felix also drove in a run for Trinity, as did Evan Jones.  Jordan Pennington finished 2-4 with one RBI, while Zach Fregosi was 2-3 for the Tigers.

Jones was 1-3 and his RBI broke Trinity's single season record for RBI - formerly held by Doug Grigar (1999).  His 25 doubles are also a school record, and he is close to being the nation's leader in doubles this season.

Clint Robertson had perhaps his best game as a Tiger pitcher in relief, throwing five total innings and striking out three batters without allowing a run.  Robertson's five shutout innings were a career-best for innings pitched, and kept Trinity in the game until the very end with his performance.

Trinity finishes in the top 16 nationally, advancing to the NCAA Playoffs for the fourth time since the 2002 season.  Head Coach Tim Scannell, in his 10th season with the Tigers, reached 300 career wins during the season, and holds a winning percentage of .702 for his career.