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ABILENE, Texas - In the game of two winners, Trinity defeated Cal-State East Bay to stay in the winner’s bracket Thursday with an 8-3 win at Walt Driggers Field. Three players drove in two runs for the Tigers and Brian Oates carried a 1-hit shutout into the sixth inning to help pace Trinity to a victory.

Each team won its respective game Wednesday in the NCAA Division III West Region Baseball Championships, but Cal State-East Bay was sent to an elimination game after falling to the Tigers. CSUEB will face La Verne at 3:30 p.m. Friday in an elimination game. La Verne defeated George Fox Thursday to stay alive but fell to Chapman Wednesday.

Trinity and Chapman will play at Noon Friday and the winner will await the remaining team Saturday for the championship game. The loser of the noon game will play the winner of CSUEB and La Verne at 7 p.m. and the game will decide who moves on to the championship.

Kyle Felix had two hits and drove in two for the Tigers, Jeff Claydon drove in two runs and Dylan Early hit his third home run of the tournament in the bottom of the eighth inning to provide insurance for Trinity. Oates finished with seven innings pitched, scattered five hits, allowed three runs, walked seven and struck out 10. Clint Robertson pitched two innings in relief and allowed just one hit to close the game.

Joey Luoma hit a two-run homer for East Bay in the losing effort in an attempt to rally in the seventh inning. Trinity led 6-0 before the Pioneers struck back with the two-run shot and another run in the top of the eighth to make the score 6-3. However, Early’s 2-run homer sunk the Pioneers and they were unable to respond in the ninth.

Trinity improved to 34-13 on the year while East Bay fell to 27-15.