Trojan baseball opens CCAC slate at St. Francis

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Trinity International looks for a strong start to the conference schedule with a doubleheader against the Fighting Saints

vs.

TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (3-9, 0-0 CCAC) at ST. FRANCIS FIGHTING SAINTS (9-12, 0-0 CCAC)
Saturday, March 22 | 1:00 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Silver Cross FIeld | Joliet, Ill.

Game Notes | Twitter Updates: @TIUTrojans | @USFSaints | Season Stats | Live Video & Audio

This Week
The Trinity International Trojans return from their southern swing to open up conference play, as TIU travels to face CCAC foe St. Francis for a weekend doubleheader. The Trojans will look to secure a win on the opening day of the CCAC schedule for the first time in three years, against a Fighting Saints squad that split last year's meeting. Saturday's matchup will be available online, through the St. Francis athletic site, GoFightingSaints.com.

Last Time Out    
The Trojans started slow out of the gate, but finished by winning two of their last three games during last week's RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. TIU dropped the first six games of the 12-game Florida swing, but finished with a 3-9 mark overall after securing wins over Aquinas (Mich.), Cairn (Pa.), and Trinity Christian in a non-conference meeting.

Sophomore A.J. Bruner (SO/Evansville, Ind.) helped lead the way in Trinity International's three victories, hitting .500 (4-for-8) in those games, with seven RBI. Catcher Rafael Mendez (SR/Santo Domingo, D.R.) led the team with a .359 average for the week overall. Sophomore pitcher Dakota Pisarek (SO/Chicago, Ill.) secured two wins on the mound last week, pitching a team-high 16.1 innings and posting a 3.86 ERA. Adam Gomski (FR/Lake Villa, Ill.) picked up the other win, throwing five innings during the Trojans' 13-7 win over Cairn (Pa.).

National Leaderboard    
Trinity International has proven to be one of the more aggressive baserunning teams in the NAIA this season. TIU ranks 20th nationally, with 2.5 stolen bases per game, and 29th with an average of 2.8 stolen base attempts per game in the early season. TIU has swiped 30 bags through their first 12 games, and have been caught stealing just four times, for an 88.2% success rate.

Individually, Tony Guidone (JR/Chicago, Ill.) and Scott Krawiec (SO/Chicago, Ill.) lead the Trojans with seven stolen bases apiece. Both are tied for 5th in the CCAC, while Guidone currently sits 27th in the NAIA with 0.6 stolen bases per game.    

In the field, Guidone, along with Trojan catcher Rafael Mendez, currently hold a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, tied atop the NAIA leaderboard.

New Skipper    
Head coach Paul Grotelueschen begins his first season in charge of the Trojan baseball program, after two seasons as the TIU pitching coach. Coach Grotelueschen came to Deerfield after 23 years of service in the United States Air Force. Before his military career, Grotelueschen played professional overseas, and then coached his teams to a pair of championships in both the Netherlands and Italy.

Scouting the Opponents    
St. Francis
• The Fighting Saints have started the year with a 9-12 record, with their last game coming over a week ago, splitting a pair of games with Bethel (Ind.) and Warner (Fla.) on Mar. 8.
• Senior outfielder David Kuhne is the team's leading hitter, with a .451 batting average, good for 3rd in the CCAC, and 25th in the NAIA. Kuhne also ranks 24th nationally in hits per game (1.52) and 33rd in slugging pct. (.676)
• The USF pitching staff has posted a 3.76 ERA this season, good for 4th in the CCAC. Junior starter Adam Panayotovich has a 1.84 ERA and 1-1 record through his first five starts this year.
• St. Francis leads the series with the Trojans 16-4, dating back to 2006. Last season, TIU split a double-header on Apr. 13, winning 2-0 in the first game, and falling 3-1 in the second.

Trojans vs. the CCAC    
• Saturday's doubleheader with St. Francis marks the opening of conference play for TIU, which consists of a 26-game schedule around the league
• TIU finished with a 5-20 record in the CCAC last year, finishing 12th of 13 programs.
• The Trojans will look to end a six-game slide in conference play that dates back to last season.
• With one non-conference game remaining on the schedule (Concordia-Wisconsin, Apr. 8), TIU matched their non-conference record from a year ago, finishing 3-9 against teams outside the CCAC.

Last Season vs. the Saints    
• The Trojans split a doubleheader last year against St. Francis, in their lone meeting of 2013.
• Dakota Pisarek picked up his first win of the season in a 2-0 victory in game one, pitching a 7-inning complete game shutout, and scattering four hits on the day.
• In game two, TIU collected seven hits, but left nine runners on base in a 3-1 loss. Rafael Mendez went 2-for-3, driving in the Trojans' lone run.

Ace of the Staff    
• Sophomore pitcher Dakota Pisarek currently leads the Trojans with a 2-0 record, picking up wins in both of his starts this season.
• Dating back to last year, Pisarek is on a four-game winning streak, starting with TIU's victory over St. Francis on Apr. 16.
• The Chicago native and Gordon Tech HS grad also leads the rotation with a 3.86 ERA. Pisarek has allowed hitters a .274 average, and has struckout 16 hitters over 16 1/3 innings.

Heavy Hitters    
• The Trojans currently have six players hitting at least .300, including two batters who are at or above the .400 mark: Evan Athanasiou (SO/Niles, Ill.) (.455) and Dakota Pisarek (.400)
• Among those qualified for the NAIA leaderboard (75% of games played and 2.5 plate appearances/game), Rafael Mendezleads the Trojans with a .359 average (19th in CCAC).
• Athanasiou leads the team among CCAC qualifiers (50% of games played), ranking 5th in the conference. The sophomore also leads the team with a .538 on-base percentage.
• Sophomore A.J. Bruner has the Trojans' lone home run on the year, with the game-winning shot that earned a 4-3 win over Trinity Christian on Apr. 14.

NCCAA Rankings    
• The Trojans' 3-9 record currently places them 47th of 67 teams in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
• As a team, the Trojans are tied for 3rd nationally, averaging 2.5 stolen bases per game (30 total)
• Evan Athanasiou is 14th in the NCCAA with a .455 batting average.
• Tony Guidone is 12th in the nation, with 0.58 stolen bases per game (7 total)

Tale of the Tape    

Stat (CCAC Rank in parenthesis) Trinity International St. Francis
Batting Average .266 (7th)     .298 (2nd)
On-Base Percentage .346 (9th)     .381 (4th)
Slugging Percentage .311 (T-10th)     .348 (5th)
Runs 46 (T-10th)     92 (2nd)
Hits 89 (8th)     188 (1st)
Doubles 8 (T-10th)     19 (5th)
Home Runs 1 (T-7th)     2 (T-3rd)
Strikeouts 71 (5th)     82 (7th)
Walks 35 (10th)     61 (2nd)
Stolen Bases     30 (4th)    20 (5th)
ERA     6.17 (9th)     3.76 (3rd)
Opp. Batting Average     .330 (10th)     .284 (7th)
BB / 9    4.04 (5th)     3.64 (3rd)
K / 9     4.65 (10th)     5.26 (9th)
Runs Allowed     84 (5th)     94 (9th)
Earned Runs     61 (5th)     65 (T-6th)
Hits Allowed     124 (6th)     172 (11th)
Home Runs Allowed     0 (1st)     2 (T-2nd)
Complete Games     3 (T-8th)     7 (T-2nd)

   

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