ABILENE, Texas – Scott Weinschenk hurled 7.2 strong innings and
Trey Pledger finished off the shutout, and the Concordia University Texas baseball team rolled to a 6-0 victory over Hardin-Simmons in the American Southwest Conference series opener on Friday night at Hunter Field.
Weinschenk (3-1) struck out six and scattered six hits before handing the ball over to Pledger. The Baytown, Texas, native came in and gave up only one hit in the final 1.1 panels to finish off the Tornados' second shutout of the spring.
The offense backed up the pitchers with nine hits, including three for extra bases, and five stolen bases.
Connor Bertsch was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to pace Concordia Texas (11-2, 8-1 ASC), while
Estevan Hernandez and
Colton Poindexter also recorded two hits apiece and both drove in a run.
Garrett Benyo added a double and swiped two bags, while
Kyle Rodriguez scored twice.
The Tornados broke the scoring seal in the fourth inning.
Benyo started the stanza with a one-out double and was moved up to third on Poindexter's infield single. After
Ragan Pope popped out in foul territory, Poindexter took off for second base and drew a throw that allowed Benyo to steal home.
A frame later, Bertsch drove in Rodriguez and
Brandon Hollier, who extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single to start the inning, on a two-out double to center field.
Concordia tacked on two more run in the seventh on an RBI double by
Cole Calder and a run-scoring single from Hernandez.
Poindexter drove in the final run in the ninth on a single to left field that allowed Rodriguez to score from second.
JT Thornton was the only player to post two hits for the Cowboys (6-7, 4-6 ASC).
Eric Zamora (2-1) gave up three runs on six hits over 5.2 stanzas. The right-hander also struck out seven and walked three.
The set is scheduled to conclude with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.
