TUCSON, Ariz. — It came down to a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh that helped the Sul Ross State baseball team defeat Bethany Lutheran College, 9-6, on Friday afternoon at the Kino Sports Complex on Day 1 of the Tucson Invitational.
"It was one of those things where the big inning was going to come," said Sul Ross head coach
Ely Gallego. "I didn't think we were going to score that many that inning. Guys did a great job early in the game laying bunts down, executing the little things."
>> HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lobos got on the board in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by
Carsen Thor.
Estevan Ortiz then extended the Sul Ross lead to 2-0 on a groundout to second that allowed
Tye Lindsey to score in the bottom of the second.
On five hits, Bethany Lutheran rallied for four runs in the top half of the third to take a 4-2 lead.
Thor delivered another RBI double in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to one.
Sul Ross tied up the score at 4-4 in the sixth after an RBI single by
Orlando Moreno.
During the big rally in the seventh, Thor crushed a solo home run to left to put the Lobos ahead by one run.
Matthew Wheeler then hit an RBI single to drive in Lindsey. Ortiz later hit an RBI triple to right that made the score 7-4.
Jared Roiz kept the inning alive with an RBI double to left and then Moreno tallied an RBI single.
Sul Ross tallied 12 hits.
Thor finished 3 for 5 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI. Moreno went 2 for 4 with two singles and two RBI.
Wheeler had an RBI to go along with his two singles as he went 2 for 4. Ortiz tallied a walk, a triple and two RBI to go 1 for 3.
Chris Ibanez got the start for the Lobos as he tossed 2.2 innings allowing three earned runs on six hits with one strikeout.
Cade Watson picked up the win as he went 3.1 innings allowing one hit.
Derek Rojo and
Connor Archer relieved the final three innings.
The duo allowed five hits and two earned runs. The Lobo pitching staff was also responsible for picking off three runners.
Sul Ross has now won four in a row since coming off the sweep of LeTourneau University last weekend.
"It feels incredible. I think it's going to set the tone for the rest of the weekend," said Thor. "I had an approach and they threw to it.
"Things just work out the way they did. It was great. I think we're all starting to click and figure it out."
Gallego added: "Our guys did a great job putting them away and having the mentality of not letting them breathe a little bit. We did a great job offensively. We still had one too many strikeouts, but we're cutting them down. What's helping us is our offensive production with two outs and the older guys stepping up."
>> RECORDS: Sul Ross (5-5); Bethany Lutheran (3-5)
>> UP NEXT: The Lobos take on Hamline University for a doubleheader beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 11 for Day 2 of the Tucson Invitational at the main stadium.
