SHERMAN – The Austin College baseball team vaulted into a tie for first place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference West Division with a four game sweep of Hendrix College over the weekend, giving them a 6-2 record in conference and a 12-11 mark overall on the year.  With the four wins, the ’Roos move into a tie atop the division with rival Trinity University.

The ’Roos took game one of the four game set on Thursday when they topped the Warriors 11-5, getting home runs from Andy White and Bobby Schleizer along with triples from Jordan Robison and Scooter Merritt.  Will Chermak picked up his third win of the season in throwing his third complete game of the year, striking out a season-high nine batters.

Game two saw Austin College hurler Cory Stevens toss perhaps the best game of his three year career, as the junior blanked the Warriors in seven innings for his fourth win of the year, striking out a career-high 12 batters and scattering seven hits in an 8-0 victory.  Bennett Herrick tripled and finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI.  Lee Cohen also went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs in the win.

The ’Roos won game three by a final score of 7-3 behind a 2-for-4 performance by Scooter Means, who doubled and drove in a run while scoring twice.  Cohen again collected a pair of hits, and White drove in a run and scored twice in the victory.

Tyler Steed threw the second complete game shutout of the weekend in game four, an 11-0 victory for the ’Roos.  Steed struck out three and scattered six hits in his eight innings of work, while White had a big day at the plate with a double and a triple, finishing the game 2-for-2 with four runs scored and four runs driven in.  Schleizer also had a double in the game and knocked in three runs.

The ’Roos step out of conference this week when they take on No. 4-ranked UT-Tyler on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Baker Field and then will square off against SCAC division co-leader Trinity in a four game set this weekend, with the first game scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday also at Baker Field.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located 60 miles north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas.  Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book “Colleges that Change Lives.”