April 18th, 2009
(Photo of Jeremy Macklin by Ron Macklin)
(Photo of TLU baseball team by Tim Clark)
Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box
ABILENE, Texas – The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs are back on top of the American Southwest Conference West Division.
A year after finishing fifth in the ASC West, the Bulldogs (28-13, 16-5 ASC West) won their seventh ASC West crown in nine years with a 4-1 win over Hardin-Simmons in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Hunter Field.
Hardin-Simmons (24-16, 14-7 ASC West) had a chance to share the ASC West crown with TLU by winning both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader. TLU’s 19-11 win on Friday forced HSU to win both games to claim a share of the division title and to secure the No. 1 seed in the ASC West (by virtue of a potential series win over the Bulldogs).
HSU took the early game of Saturday’s twin bill 8-2 to make the series’ third game a battle for the ASC West No. 1 seed for next weekend’s first round of the ASC Championship Tournament.
TLU third-game starter Jeremy Macklin lifted TLU to the outright division crown and to the No. 1 seed with a complete-game four-hitter that limited the Cowboys to one run. Macklin (Austin/Bowie/Huston-Tillotson) struck out eight walked two and scattered four singles among the Cowboy lineup. He moved his overall record to 5-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.53.
Macklin hit in the TLU lineup as the pitcher/designated hitter and collected two hits and a run scored in the series clincher.
Andrew Femath (El Paso/Montwood/Howard JC), Ryan Nokelby (Santa Fe, Texas/Santa Fe), Joe Gentry (Houston/Westside), and Chris Green (Austin/Bowie/Concordia Texas) each collected RBI in the 4-1 win.
TLU trailed 1-0 after the second but scratched across two runs in the fifth, a run in the sixth, and a run in the seventh.
Three of the four HSU hits against Macklin came in the fourth, but the Cowboys could not get a run across the plate. Kyle Harvey (Houston/Houston Christian) threw out J.T. Armstrong at home for the second out in the inning. Senior catcher Chris Siniff (San Antonio/Judson) took the two-hop throw and held on for the out as Armstrong slid hard into the plate.
Macklin cruised into the ninth after that point. In the ninth, Armstrong reached on an error by Green, but Green quickly atoned for the miscue by turned a 6-3 double play on a ground ball hit up the middle by James Gage. Green slid to his knees to field the ball behind second, stepped on second for the force, and fired to first to retire Gage.
Taylor Berlin grounded out to Gentry at third base to end the game. The Bulldogs spilled out onto the field as the throw hit the glove of Clay Childress (Houston/Jersey Village/Eastfield JC).
The celebration was especially sweet for TLU’s coaching staff and returning players that endured a 19-21 season in 2008. Last season’s performance resulted in a fifth-place finish in the division and a year without any postseason activity.
For 2009, the Bulldogs are back in the ASC Championship Tournament, a championship the Bulldogs have won three times in the past four years. TLU will host the University of the Ozarks (Ark.), at 16-20 overall and 9-9 in the ASC East, on Friday for game one of a best two-of-three series at TLU’s Katt-Isbel Field. Times for the series games have yet to be announced.
HSU’s Kyle Barton kept the Cowboys alive for a second straight shared title with a dominant performance in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. The senior right-hander tossed a four-hitter over seven innings. He allowed two earned runs and struck out seven to improve to 9-0.
HSU enters the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed out of the ASC West. The Cowboys host Texas-Dallas in Abilene. McMurry will be the No. 3 seed. The No. 4 spot is still up for grabs between Mary Hardin-Baylor and Concordia Texas.
McMurry hits the road to play either Texas-Tyler or Mississippi College, and either Concordia Texas or UMHB play on the road against either Texas-Tyler of Mississippi College. The winners of the four best 2-of-3 first round series advance to the double-elimination portion of the ASC Championship Tournament.