SEGUIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran Baseball blasted Howard Payne, 16-6, on Friday night at Katt-Isbel Field in seven innings. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets will conclude the series on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 and 4 PM. Both games will be streamed on FloCollege.
Isaiah Ramirez (San Antonio/Marshall) got the Opening Day start for the Bulldogs, allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out two in 3.2 innings of work.
Parker Schutte (Arlington/Lamar) earned the win in relief, allowing one run on two hits, while striking out three in 2.2 innings of relief.
Several Bulldogs had big days at the plate led by 4-for-5 performances from
Adam Peavy (Houston/Memorial) and
Brayden Sprencel (Robstown/Calallen). Peavy would score four runs on Friday night while Sprencel drove in four runs with two doubles.
Cole Cravens (Round Rock/Round Rock) drove in a team-high five runs while going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Caleb Small (Round Rock/Gateway College Preparatory) went 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Chase Bourgeois (League City/Clear Falls) tied the TLU single-game record for doubles, finishing with a final stat line of 3-for-5 with three doubles and two RBI. The three doubles are the most in a game from a Texas Lutheran Baseball player since Eric Rabinowitz against McMurry in 2018.
Texas Lutheran wasted no time getting started in 2026, scoring three runs in the first inning via a two-RBI double from Sprencel and an RBI single from
Caleb Small.
The Bulldogs got another two runs in the third as Cravens drove in his first two runs of the night with a two-RBI single.
Howard Payne scored three runs in the top of the fourth before the Bulldogs officially blew the game open in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs on four hits. An RBI single from Sprencel got the scoring started before the Bulldogs would load the bases with two outs.
Caleb Small and
Cole Cravens hit back-to-back two-RBI doubles to give TLU a 10-3 lead.
Howard Payne got one run back in the fifth before five more Bulldog runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the inning to extend the lead to 15-4 and officially put the game in run-rule territory.
Aiden Spires (Fort Worth/Arlington Heights) scored on a bunt from Sprencel to get the scoring started in the fifth. An RBI single from
Mathew Elizondo (Eagle Pass/Eagle Pass) made it 12-4 before the Bulldogs found themselves with the bases loaded yet again. Cravens had an RBI ground out before a two-RBI double from Bourgeois closed the scoring in the fifth.
A sac fly from Elizondo scored Peavy in the sixth for the Bulldogs final run. Howard Payne showed one final sign of life against
Mark Austria (Round Rock/Stony Point) as they scored two runs on two hits before the sophomore reliever worked his way out of the jam to secure the run-rule victory.
For more information on Texas Lutheran baseball and all TLU athletics, you can find updates on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics and @TLU_Baseball on X (Twitter), @tlubulldogs on Facebook, and @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok).
