TLU Baseball clinches conference tourney top seed, shares regular-season crown

TLU Baseball clinches conference tourney top seed, shares regular-season crown


KERRVILLE, Texas -- Sixth-ranked Texas Lutheran bounced back from a 21-inning loss Saturday to defeat Schreiner 11-3 Sunday and clinch the top seed in next weekend's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Championship.

The Bulldogs share the 2019 SCAC regular-season championship with the Trinity Tigers. TLU is the No. 1 seed by virtue of its series win against the Tigers.

In the series-deciding win over Schreiner, the Bulldogs collected 20 total hits and broke the game open with a five-run sixth inning.

In the sixth, Cullen Motsinger (Houston/Cypress Ranch) hit an RBI triple, and Tyler Cauley (Mont Belvieu) scored Motsinger with an RBI double.

The inning continued with Spencer Brandt (Yoakum/Yoakum) driving in a run with a double, and Collin Docker (Lago Vista/Lago Vista) drove in two runs with a single.

The Bulldogs rallied from a 3-1 deficit with a three-run fifth. Cole Irby (Buda/Hays) collected an RBI single, and Joe Jimenez (San Antonio/Johnson) drove in two with a single.

Jimenez was 4-for-5 with two RBI, and Cauley and Motsinger each had three hits. Thomas Varner (Austin/Bowie) was 4-for-6 with four runs scored. Austin Colon (La Grange/La Grange) added three hits.

Cody Rimko (Lewisville/Lewisville) improved to 3-2 with seven innings of scoreless relief. He allowed just four hits, and he struck out four.

TLU will face Southwestern, the No. 4 seed, in the first round of the four-team, double-elimination SCAC tournament. The game will be played Friday in Cleburne, Texas at a time to be determined. The conference tournament will be played at The Depot at Cleburne Station.

TLU won its first SCAC Baseball Championship at The Depot a year ago. The Bulldogs went on to claim a regional title and finish as the national runner-up at the DIII College World Series in Appleton, Wis.