Texas Lutheran Overpowers DeSales, 18-13

SEGUIN, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran baseball team (6-6) pounded the baseball all game Tuesday night (March 8) as the Bulldogs overpowered DeSales University by a score of 18-13 at Katt-Isbel Field.

The teams scored in bunches as Texas Lutheran scored 16 of its runs from the second inning through the fourth inning while DeSales scored all of its runs in four frames.

Joe Jimenez (San Antonio/Johnson) terrorized the visiting Bulldogs all night. The junior shortstop launched a fourth inning three-run home run after a two-RBI single in the second inning. Jimenez finished the night three-for-four with five RBI, two walks, and two runs scored. Jimenez is now tied for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) lead in home runs with three so far this season.

DeSales started the scoring with a six-run outburst to start the first inning - chasing Texas Lutheran starter Diego Vinton (Richmond/George Ranch) after one inning.

Texas Lutheran answered with a seven-run second inning following four hits, three walks, and taking advantage of two errors from DeSales as the Bulldogs took a 7-6 lead. TLU would follow the second inning with four runs in the third - with RBIs from Nick Gardoni (Salinas, Calif./Ruiz) and Wade Tittle (Caldwell/Caldwell) - and five runs in the fourth inning capped off by the three-run home run from Jimenez.

After a rough start, things settled on the mound for Texas Lutheran as sophomore left-hander Noah Kellum (Cedar Park/Leander) entered in the second inning. Kellum did not allow a hit in two innings of work that saw the Bulldogs score 11 runs in the same period. Kellum would give way to Jacob Coronado (Houston/Chavez) in the fourth inning but would be credited with the decision.

DeSales would storm back in the fifth with a three-run frame and add another run in the sixth. JT Taylor (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Christian) would enter the game in the sixth and dominate for a majority of his two innings of work striking out four of the nine batters he faced, allowing one run.

Texas Lutheran would score one more run in the seventh to reach their final total of 18 runs and DeSales would add three more in the eighth before Paco Medina (San Antonio/Harlan) would take the mound in the ninth and strike out three out of four batters faced to secure the Bulldogs victory. With the win, Texas Lutheran extends its winning streak to five games in a row.

Aric Vasquez (San Antonio/Brandeis) and Kai Hendershot (San Antonio/Johnson) followed behind Jimenez as players with multiple hits for a Texas Lutheran team that finished with 11 hits. Following a three-RBI performance Saturday against Sul Ross State, Tyler Post (San Antonio/Johnson) once again drove in three runs for the Bulldogs.

Up next, Texas Lutheran will host the 25th-ranked East Texas Baptist Tigers for a three-game series at Katt-Isbel Field March 11-12. The Bulldogs and Tigers will play a 7-inning/9-inning doubleheader on Friday, March 11, at Katt-Isbel Field in Seguin, Texas, with first pitch scheduled for 3 PM and 6 PM followed by a single nine-inning game on Saturday, March 12 at 1 PM. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

All updates on game status and more can be found on tlubulldogs.com as well as all official Texas Lutheran Athletics accounts. For more information on Texas Lutheran baseball and all TLU athletics, you can find updates on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics and @TLU_Baseball on Twitter, @tlubulldogs on Instagram and Facebook, and @tlu_athletics on TikTok).