LONGVIEW, Texas – Kiel Harmon limited LeTourneau to four hits and one run over seven innings and the 16th-ranked Concordia University Texas baseball team rolled to a 9-1 win in the American Southwest Conference series finale on Sunday afternoon at Conrad-Vernon Field.
The Tornados (19-3, 15-2 ASC) jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings of play.
It was all the help Harmon would need.
The right-hander, who improved to 4-0 this spring, gave up a solo home run and a double in the third inning, but only allowed two singles after that.
Harmon struck out three batters and lowered his ERA to a league-leading 1.34 before handing the ball over to the bullpen.
Concordia Texas added three more runs in the sixth to extend its advantage to eight runs, which helped the squad win its sixth three-game set this season.
The Tornados backed up Harmon's pitching performance with 15 hits.
Estevan Hernandez pushed his team-long hitting streak to 12 games with a 4-for-4 day at the plate that included two RBIs and a stolen base.
Kyle Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs, while
Trevor Harlos had a pinch-hit, two-run double in the sixth.
Brandon Hollier also added a pair of knocks and scored three times.
Justin Jenkins (5-1) was saddled with the loss for the YellowJackets (18-7, 12-6 ASC) after yielding nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits over 5.2 frames.
Concordia will continue its current seven-game road trip with a stop at former ASC foe Texas Lutheran on Tuesday, April 1. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Katt-Isbel Field in Seguin.
How They Scored
• Concordia Texas 1, LeTourneau 0; Top 1st:
Estevan Hernandez singled to right field,
Brent Schaekel scored from third base.
• Concordia Texas 3, LeTourneau 0; Top 1st:
Kyle Rodriguez tripled to right field,
Estevan Hernandez scored from first base and
Brandon Hollier scored from second base.
• Concordia Texas 4, LeTourneau 0; Top 1st: Conner Bertsch reached on a fielder's choice,
Kyle Rodriguez scored from third base.
• Concordia Texas 5, LeTourneau 0; Top 2nd:
Garrett Benyo singled to left center,
Brandon Hollier scored from second base.
• Concordia Texas 6, LeTourneau 0; Top 2nd:
Kyle Rodriguez singled to left field,
Estevan Hernandez scored from third base.
• Concordia Texas 6, LeTourneau 1; Bottom 3rd: Caleb Pritchett hit a home run.
• Concordia Texas 7, LeTourneau 1; Top 6th:
Estevan Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to right field,
Gareth Hutton scored from third base.
• Concordia Texas 9, LeTourneau 1: Top 6th:
Trevor Harlos doubled to left center,
Brandon Hollier scored from first base and
Brent Schaekel scored from third base.
Post-Series Notes
• The Tornados extended their best start in school history to 19-3.
• Concordia sits alone atop the ASC standings, 2.5 games ahead of second-place Mary Hardin-Baylor.
• The Tornados' pitching staff lowered its league-leading ERA to 2.00, allowing only three earned runs against LeTourneau.
• Concordia boasts three of the top five pitchers in the ASC, in terms of ERA –
Kiel Harmon (1.34),
Cameron Cox (1.43),
Scott Weinschenk (1.94).
• In conference play only, the Tornados' pitching staff owns a 1.38 ERA.
•
Dillon Stavinoha tossed two scoreless innings of relief on Sunday. The southpaw has not allowed a run in his last five panels of work, spanning three appearances.
• The Tornados, who plays its home games on FieldTurf at Tornado Field, are 8-1 in games played on grass this spring.
• Concordia improved to 14-2 all-time against LeTourneau. This weekend marked the first time the two teams had played a series that counted in the league standings.
