SEGUIN, Texas – Texas Lutheran outlasted the Celts of the University of St. Thomas 1-0 Friday in game one of the three-game weekend series between the two teams.

In a battle of two of the three teams tied for first place atop the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball standings, the host Bulldogs got their lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI groundball from Blade Strzelczyk that scored Joe Jimenez from third base.

UST's Landon Murray pitched eight solid innings, scattering six hits and striking out four batters in a hard-luck loss. TLU's Joe Burch tossed seven scoreless innings, with Strzelczyk pitching the last two to earn the save.

The Celts (11-14, 5-2 SCAC) were not without scoring chances in the game. They loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning, but came away empty-handed.

In the top of the seventh, the Celts used back-to-back singles from Knight Newcomb and Noah Martinez to put runners on the corners with one out. UST opted to try a squeeze play with Jason Brown at the bat, but his bunt to pitcher Joe Burch was fielded with enough time for the pitcher to throw to catcher Holden Philippus and get Newcomb out at the plate.

UST finished the day in third place in the SCAC standings behind TLU (16-7, 6-1) and Trinity (13-7, 5-1). Trinity opens their three-game weekend series at home against Dallas on Saturday.

The Celts conclude their series at TLU with a Saturday doubleheader. First pitch in Saturday's opener is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.