BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Playing toe-to-toe with the no. 2 team in the nation for seven innings, #21/#24 East Texas Baptist University came up shy of the upset over LaGrange College, 5-0. After seven scoreless innings, LaGrange scored four runs in the eighth inning. ETBU is now 2-2 on the year.
It was a pitching duel through seven innings as neither team could find a way to score.
Sayers Collins went 7.1 innings with seven innings of no runs before allowing four runs, three earned, in the eighth inning. LaGrange's ace Baley Colemen went six innings before exiting picking up nine strikeouts and allowing just three hits and no runs. Collins recorded eight strikeouts in the loss with only four hits.
Jacob Sherman finished for ETBU going the final 1.2 innings with one strikeout, one run, and two hits.
Both teams only had six hits each in the game as
Parker Perez had two including a double. LaGrange had two players with two hits each and one double.
Collins retired the first 12 batters he faced striking out the side in the top of the third inning. In those first four innings he had five of his eight strikeouts. In the fifth inning, Perez started the inning with a double but LaGrange's Coleman struck out the next three batters to end ETBU's threat. The next inning, ETBU threatened again as
Jordan Hara singled and stole second with two outs to be put in scoring position. Coleman struck out Wagner to end another threat as it stayed scoreless after six innings.
For the third inning in a row, ETBu had a runner on base.
Austin Barry singled to left field with two outs but that is as far as he made it as the inning ended on a fly out.
LaGrange took advantage of a walk and an error to start the eighth inning as the third and fourth batters had back-to-back hits to go up 2-0. After Collins struck out a batter, Sherman came in with two runners on. After an intentional walk, LaGrange had a single to left field scoring two more runs for a 4-0 lead.
ETBU had a runner on second in the eighth inning with two outs but a fly out ended the inning, again, as they trailed 4-0. After a fielding error with no outs in the top of the ninth, LaGrange had a sacrifice fly to finish off the scoring for a 5-0 lead.
Nick Massarini started the bottom of the ninth with a single and then two batters later Perez singled as ETBU was threatening with one out. An infield fly and a fielder's choice ended the game as ETBU fell, 5-0.
ETBU will face Huntingdon on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala.
