Baseball
 

February 15, 2009

Hoover Shines but Tigers Settle for Series Split

San Antonio - A career day for senior shortstop Stosh Hoover was not enough for the Tiger baseball team, which lost a 14-8 game against Austin College on Sunday afternoon.

Trinity (1-5, 1-1) splits the weekend series in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, having won yesterday's opener 9-8 in 11 innings.

Hoover was 4-5 with three runs and six RBI, knocking two home runs and a triple in the game.  Hoover had just two career homers coming into the game, but cracked a pair of two-run shots to left field in today's loss.

Dylan Early was the only other Tiger player with more than one hit, while Ryan Sterk came on in the later innings and scored a pair of runs.

Trinity fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first, but Hoover hit the first of his two home runs to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.  Austin College responded with a four-run second to take the lead for good in this one.

The back-breaker proved to be a seven-run fifth inning, followed by a run in the sixth to push Austin College's lead to 14-2.  The Tigers scored three runs in both the seventh and the ninth, but the lead proved to be too much to overcome.

Bennett Herrick was 3-5 with two runs and four RBI for the 'Roos, while Jordan Robison and Patrick Ray had two hits and two runs each.

Ben Klimesh (0-2) took the loss for Trinity, after being chased from the game in the second inning.  Taylor Burden came on with 3.1 innings of relief, striking out four and giving up just one run on one hit.  Tiger pitchers walked 10 batters and hit four more to put numerous extra runners on base.

Trinity will face the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday in Belton, Texas, followed by a three-game series at Sul Ross State University.  The Tigers return home February 28 to open a two-game SCAC series with Hendrix College.