GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Led by three hits each from
Bret Leiferman and
Marcus Thach, the Concordia Texas baseball team picked up an 11-2 victory over Hardin-Simmons Sunday in the final day of the Rusty Greer/Jackie Moore Classic at QuickTrip Field.
Leiferman, a redshirt junior out of Round Rock, Texas, continued his torrid start to the season by going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored while Thach, a redshirt junior from Palmer, Texas, closed the day 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored to help CTX move to 3-0 on the season.
The 3-0 start for the Tornados is the best record to start a season since CTX swept Southwestern to open the 2014 campaign.
The Tornados opened the game contest with four runs in the first inning and never looked back. In the first, CTX got an RBI single from
Reed Carlton as well as a two-RBI single off the bat of starting pitcher/designated hitter
Dakota Limon.
Hardin-Simmons cut the lead in half with single runs in the second and third innings to make the score 4-2.
CTX answered with single runs of their own, however, in the third and fourth innings thanks to an RBI double by Thach and Leiferman coming home on a wild pitch.
In the bottom half of fifth, the Tornados were able to break the game open. With
Cameron Rape at third, Thach laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to bring home Rape and wound up at second base after an errant throw with an RBI single.
Ryan Clouse and Leiferman followed Thach with back-to-back RBI singles to push the lead to 9-2.
Leiferman, however, was not done producing runs for CTX. In the seventh, the 2016 ASC Freshman of the Year roped a single through the left side to bring home two more. On the weekend, Leiferman finished 8-for-11 with four RBIs and five runs scored.
On the hill,
Taylor Barksdale picked up the victory in his debut for the Tornados after tossing 4.0 innings, allowing one run, five hits and striking out two.
Calvin Bush was very effective in relief as well, tossing 2.0 perfect innings and fanning two to clinch the win.
Next up, the Tornados will face off against UT Dallas in their home opener at Tornado Field in a rematch of the 2018 American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday at 11 a.m.
