Baseball
 

March 14, 2008

Trinity Opens SCAC Play With Win Over Hendrix

Conway, Arkansas - The Tiger baseball team opened Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 9-3 win at Hendrix College on Friday night.

Trinity (9-6, 1-0) struck first with a run in the opening inning, but Hendrix was up to the task with a tying run in the bottom half.  Hendrix then took its first and only lead with a run in the third on a leadoff homer. 

The Tigers then tied the game on an RBI groundout in the fifth, and reclaimed the lead for good with a sacrifice fly from the very next hitter.  Trinity added two more runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to take a 7-2 lead, as well as scoring once in the eighth and ninth for insurance runs.  Hendrix managed a run in the ninth, but could get no more off of the Tiger pitching tonight.

Starter Ryan Poffenroth (2-0) threw six strong innings for the win, striking out a career-high nine batters in the game.  Poffenroth gave up just two runs on five hits through six innings of work.  His nine K's also put him over 100 strikeouts in his career.

John Prato Matthews came on in the seventh, giving up a walk and recording one strikeout.  Clint Robertson finished off the final two innings, giving up just one run on three hits and striking out three batters.

First-years Kevin Calbick and Kyle Felix stole the show offensively, collecting four hits each in the game.  Calbick was 4-5 with two runs and one RBI, smacking two doubles to increase his team-leading total to eight.  Felix also had an extra-base hit on the day, going 4-5 with a triple, scoring one run and driving in four more.

Evan Jones had a pair of hits - including his team-leading third triple of the year - while Dominick Robusto and Zach Fregosi each scored a pair of runs in the victory.

Hendrix's Daniel Ward hit for the cycle in the loss, cracking a triple in his final plate appearance to complete the achievement.  Ward doubled and homered in his first two at-bats, then singled and was walked in his next two.  In the ninth inning, he tripled off of Robertson to set up that inning's only score.

Trinity and Hendrix continue the four-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon.  Game one is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.  The series concludes on Sunday at noon.