SEGUIN â€" Tony Gennusa's eighth-inning triple drove in the winning run in Texas Lutheran's come-from-behind 8-6 win over Texas-Tyler on Friday night, capping off a two-win day after the Bulldogs defeated Whittier 10-0 earlier.

The pair of wins gave the Bulldogs three straight to start the season, as they improve to 3-0. The offense has now averaged 10 runs per game in the three games and notched 15 hits in all three contests.

After opening the season with two blowouts, TLU faced its first multi-run deficit of the season against Texas-Tyler after falling behind 6-1 just two innings into action. The Bulldogs tied things up in the third inning with five runs of their own. The 6-6 deadlock was finally broken by Gennusa (Kingwood, Texas) in the eighth, scoring Holden Bryant with the triple. The Bulldogs added an insurance run after Zach Jacobs (Brenham, Texas) scored Gennusa with an RBI single.

Gennusa finished the game 4-for-5 with three runs and the all-important RBI. He and Bryant (Bullard, Texas) combined to go 7-for-9 from the plate with five runs between them.

While Bryant was the catalyst from the bottom of the lineup, the Bulldogs top three hitters in their lineup werealso  productive against the Patriots. The combination of Gennusa, Jacobs and freshman Riley Schaefer (Thorndale, Texas), making his first collegiate start, finished 8-for-15 with five RBI and five runs.

Nathan Malinovsky (New Braunfels, Texas) was credited with the win for the Bulldogs. The freshman pitched the eighth inning without allowing a hit or run. Fellow freshman Hunter Roberts (Montgomery, Texas) earned his first career save, working around a two-out error to shut the Patriots down.

Freshman Dylan Drgac (Caldwell, Texas) got the start for TLU, but his first outing was tough. He worked two innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks. Another freshman, Aaron Milone (Houston, Texas), entered in relief of Drgac and tossed three and 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just three hits.

After getting down 6-1, the Bulldogs used a five-run third inning to get back in the game. Jacobs and Schaefer got the inning started with back-to-back RBI singles. Justin Law (Houston, Texas) followed that up with a two-run double. The inning was capped off with an RBI single from Austin Frick.

In the early-afternoon win over Whittier, Texas Lutheran used a quick start to seize control of the game for the second straight day. After scoring nine runs in the opening two innings in Friday's win over the Poets, the Bulldogs scored three more in the first inning on Saturday.

The offense was once again rolling, on its way to 15 hits for the second straight game. The Bulldogs scored in five of the first six innings against the Poets. Seven of the nine hitters in the TLU starting lineup tallied at least one hit.

Leading the way in the RBI department for the second time in as many games was Lincoln Baylor (Schertz, Texas). The junior finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored on Saturday. That performance comes on the heels of a 2-for-2, 5-RBI opening night.

Gennusa (Kingwood, Texas) did a good job setting the table from the leadoff spot, racking up three hits in five at-bats and scoring two runs in the game.

The Bulldog pitching staff continued its strong start to the season, shutting out the Poets and holding them to just eight hits on the day. Thomas Harwell (Humble, Texas) got the start for TLU and tossed seven innings of shutout ball, giving up just six hits and striking out five.

Britton Hawes (Salado, Texas) and Zack Meador (West, Texas) both made their TLU varsity debuts against the Poets. Both pitchers tossed an inning to finish out the final two frames to close out the game.

The Bulldogs have another non-conference tournament on tap for next weekend. They will travel to Tyler, Texas to take part in the Clements Fluid Classic on Feb. 13-14. They will face off against Louisiana College, LeTourneau and the same Patriots team they just beat in Seguin.