AUSTIN, Texas – Trailing 4-0 after the top half of the first inning, the Concordia Texas baseball team plated 11 runs in their last six at bats to complete the sweep of UT Tyler on Saturday at Tornado Field.
Casen Novak was stellar at the plate, going 4-for-5 on the day, to help CTX push their winning streak to nine games and start the season with a program-best 14-1 record.
The Patriots jumped ahead early in the contest, scoring four runs in the top half of the fourth on three hits and one error.
The score remained 4-0 until the bottom half of the third when the Tornados responded with three runs thanks to an RBI single from
Casen Novak and a two-RBI single off the bat of
Carson Cox.
In the bottom half of the fifth,
Owen Hill tied the contest on an RBI single up through the right side. CTX took the lead for good one batter later when
Kalen Moreno laid down a perfect RBI bunt single to bring home
Reed Carlton, followed by an RBI fielder's choice by
Ryan Clouse.
Jacob Gwynne added a pair of insurance runs for the Tornados in the seventh with a two-RBI double down the right field line to make the score 8-4.
After UT Tyler produced a run in the top of the eighth, CTX responded once again with a RBI bases loaded walk by
Collin Mask and a two-RBI single off the bat of Novak to bring the game to 11-5 on the scoreboard.
Novak, a junior from Flatonia, Texas, finished the day with three RBIs, a run scored and a walk while registering his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
All five relief pitchers were fantastic out of the bullpen for CTX, combining to toss 6.2 innings, giving up four hits and two runs while walking just two.
Calvin Bush (2-0) picked up the win on the hill in relief after throwing 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out six.
The Tornados will put their nine-game winning streak on the line as they head to Auburndale, Fla., for the Russmatt Tournament at Lake Myrtle Sports Park from Friday-Tuesday. The tournament will begin with a matchup on Friday at 4:15 PM CT with a matchup against St. Scholastica.