Pitching Staff, Jimenez Lift Bulldogs to Victory Over OLLU

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Texas Lutheran rode seven no-hit innings from the Bulldogs pitching staff and a three RBI game from Joe Jimenez (San Antonio/Johnson) to defeat Our Lady of the Lake, 7-2, Tuesday night at Missions Baseball Academy in San Antonio.

The Bulldogs (1-5) got off to a strong start, as a Jimenez double drove in two runs in the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs would tack on another run in the second inning following a sacrifice fly from Blade Strzelczyk (San Antonio/East Central). The Bulldogs would cruise through the first seven innings as the combination of: Isai Campos (Alice/Alice), JT Taylor (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Christian), Riley Backs (Cypress/Cypress Falls), Zach Longshore (Richmond/Ft. Bend Travis), Jacob Coronado (Houston/Chavez), and AJ Briscoe (Blanco/Blanco) navigated through the Saints (6-9) lineup without allowing a hit and only allowing two base runners via walks.

In the top of the fifth, Randy Huerta (New Braunfels/New Braunfels) extended the Texas Lutheran lead to 4-0 with a triple to right field scoring Blake Cappadona (Mont Belvieu/Barbers Hill) - who led the inning off with a double and stealing third base. Sophomore first baseman Tyler Post (San Antonio/Johnson) would score Huerta with a sac fly as the Bulldogs would carry a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the inning.

An RBI double from Post and RBI single from Jimenez would extend the Bulldogs lead to 7-0 in the top of the eighth with their no-hit bid still intact. Joe Jimenez would conclude the afternoon a home run shy of the cycle finishing with a stat line of 4-5 with a double, a triple, 3 RBIs.

The Bulldogs bids for their first no-hitter and shut out of the season both fizzled out in the eighth inning as the Saints showed signs of life crossing two runs in the bottom of the eighth to avoid the home shutout.

After a scoreless top half of the inning, freshman Paco Medina would shut the door in the bottom of ninth - striking out three batters in the inning - silencing any chances of a Saints rally and securing the Bulldogs first win of the season.

Up next, the Bulldogs will continue their non-conference slate as they travel to Belton to face Mary Hardin-Baylor in a three-game series at Red Murff Field. The first game is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 25, with first pitch at 6 PM. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.