TLU Baseball Blasts Southwestern, 13-1

SEGUIN, Texas -- Scoring early and never relenting at the plate or on the mound, the Texas Lutheran baseball team defeated regionally-ranked Southwestern, 13-1, Friday evening at Katt-Isbel Field in the series opener. The run-rule victory marks the sixth amidst their 10-game win streak.

Senior Blade Strzelczyk (San Antonio/East Central) was electric on the mound. The senior fanned eight batters and gave up just one unearned run on a passed ball in the seventh inning.

Texas Lutheran, who owns the highest scoring offense in the SCAC, continued to dominate at the plate. The Bulldogs (25-13, 15-4 SCAC) tagged Pirates pitching for 15 hits, including two doubles. Holden Philippus (San Antonio/San Antonio Christian) went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, while Randy Huerta (New Braunfels/New Braunfels) went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.

After RBI singles from Holden Philippus in the first and third innings gave TLU a 2-0 lead, the Bulldogs put together a 11-run bottom of the fourth to blow the game open. The hit parade started with a single by Alec Sanchez (Waxahachie/Waxahachie) before Randy Huerta would bring in the first run of the inning on a single.

Asher Bonnell (Round Rock/Stony Point) would single and steal second base to put two runners in scoring position for Kyle Gates (La Vernia/La Vernia) who would drive in Huerta with an RBI single. Aric Vasquez (San Antonio/Brandeis) would continue the hit parade with an RBI single to score Bonnell. A walk to Holden Philippus would load the bases before back-to-back hit by pitches to Tyler Post (San Antonio/Johnson) and Niko Garcia (Houston/Langham Creek) crossed two more runs for TLU as the lead stretched to 7-0. Philippus would score on a wild pitch before Alec Sanchez would reload the bases with a walk as TLU hit around in the inning. Randy Huerta would drive in two more runs with a double down the left field line and Asher Bonnell would drive in Sanchez with an RBI single. Blake Cappadona (Mont Belvieu/Barbers Hill) would cross the final two runs of the inning with a two-RBI double to right field.

The Bulldogs will play game two of their three day, three-game series with the Pirates on Saturday at Katt-Isbel Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 PM. Saturday is also Senior Day for the Bulldogs as they will recognize their 12 seniors in a pregame ceremony tentatively scheduled to start at 1:35 PM. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.