SAN ANTONIO – Sophomore right-hander Jackson Teer (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) joined an elite list in the history of Trinity University Baseball Saturday afternoon as the ninth player all-time to post a complete-game no-hitter—the first since the 2017 season—to push the team toward a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference series sweep of Austin College.
The No. 19 Tigers (11-5; 3-0 SCAC) posted a second double-digit, abbreviated victory in the series as Teer's no-hitter came with a 10-run outburst in Saturday's first game. The sophomore's overpowering effort came less than 24 hours after junior Joseph Chavana (Laredo, Texas / J.B. Alexander) opened the series with a complete-game one-hitter for an identical 10-0 victory Friday night.
The Kangaroos (4-13; 0-3 SCAC) brought a fight in the series finale though a strong closing effort from junior Harrison Durow (Dallas, Texas / Lovejoy) slammed the door on the game, 5-4, and the weekend sweep. Senior Michael Boeke (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) notched his first decision of the season with a clean four outs in relief.
Senior Ezra Gore (Dallas, Texas / McKinney North) and sophomore Michael Lustina (Austin, Texas / Westlake) combined for seven RBI in the day's opener while six different Tigers pushed one run across at some point during the day. Junior Cristian Holloway (Brownsville, Texas / Veterans Memorial) posted a four-for-eight day at the plate to go with a walk, all while batting in either the first or second spot in the lineup.
No. 19 Trinity Baseball embarks on its first road trip of the 2023 season Tuesday for a one-off matchup with McMurry University, slated for a 5:00 p.m. first pitch. The Tigers then spend the weekend in Seguin, Texas for its next SCAC series against Texas Lutheran University.
Game One: Trinity 10, Austin 0 (7 inn.)
A second-inning walk for Austin's Asher Thompson would end up being the difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game for Teer in Saturday's opener, though the free pass came after Trinity had already mounted a three-run lead.
Gore—the clean-up hitter in early contest—put the first run on the board with a sacrifice fly that scored Holloway with the bases loaded after three straight hits opened the inning. Lustina came through for two of his three RBI two at-bats later, scoring both senior catcher Tyler Pettit (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) and junior left fielder Ty Preston (Pearland, Texas / Pearland).
Teer posted three strikeouts over the first three frames as the margin rode at 3-0 Trinity, until the Alamo City-native turned up the heat striking out the side in the fourth inning. The Tiger bats responded to the new tone set by their hurler with a five-run fifth inning.
Pettit opened the next scoring eruption on an infield single with the bases loaded, sending home fellow Round Rock, Texas-native junior center fielder Jack Peterson (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock), who led the inning off with a walk. Gore returned to drop in a base hit to center, scoring Preston and Holloway. Lustina ended the wave with his third RBI, a sac fly to drive Pettit in.
With dark clouds threatening the torrid pace of Saturday's opener, Trinity continued to fire with the two necessary runs to trigger the seventh-inning run rule. Sophomore Max Milligan (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo)—a defensive replacement in the top of the inning—was the first across the plate after a one-out walk, which would later become a theme for the day for Milligan. Senior shortstop Michael Montrezza (Los Gatos, Calif. / Leigh) put the Tigers up 10 with a groundout to short to send Pettit home a third time, and set up the early conclusion.
Game Two: Trinity 5, Austin 4
Trinity's dominant run in the weekend series continued as the Tigers logged the first four runs in Saturday's b-side, marking 24 unanswered runs over 18 innings. Peterson scampered home on a double-play in the third frame ahead of a three-run burst in the fourth.
The twinbill's second first baseman, junior Korson Hastings (San Antonio, Texas / Churchill), began the fourth with a RBI double down the leftfield line to send Gore home after his lead-off knock. Peterson returned to the plate to drive in Montrezza on a sac fly, which turned into a two-for-one bargain as the Kangaroo pitcher threw away an attempt at throwing out Hastings at third, leading to the third run of the frame.
To this point, game three starter junior Cade McGahan (Davidson, N.C. / Hough) had allowed just three baserunners—two hits and a walk—to four strikeouts. Under the radar, Milligan had already notched his second and third walks of the day in his first two plate appearances in the series finale. The sophomore finished the game with a third walk in the sixth.
The Austin fifth inning opened with a leadoff throwing error, foreshadowing the 'Roos' first answer of the series and a three-run rebuttal, now 4-3 Trinity. All three runs scored with two outs on the board, preserving McGahan's earned-run average, though the weekend's first call to the bullpen came for the final out of the fifth through Boeke.
The change on the mound settled things down as Boeke logged a pair of strikeouts to just one walk through the end of the sixth. Sophomore Jack Martinez (Corpus Christi, Texas / Ray) took the reins for the following two innings of work.
Holloway doubled the Trinity advantage, 5-3, in the eighth as he pushed Peterson across for the outfielder's third run of the day, second in the finale.
Austin was able to put one more run on the board in the ninth, though Durow took over on the hill and overcame a bases-loaded jam to finish off the series with back-to-back punchouts.
Up Next
Trips to McMurry and Texas Lutheran are on deck for No. 19 Trinity Baseball. The Tigers return to San Antonio March 28 for the first of a three-game SCAC series against reigning conference champion Centenary College.