Trojans come from behind for walkoff win over Tigers
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Photo GalleryDEERFIELD, Ill. --In the final minutes of daylight, freshman
Jeff Lindberg put the finishing touches on the Trinity International Trojans come-from-behind victory over the Olivet Nazarene Tigers, as the Trojans split Thursday's doubleheader with a 6-5 win in 11 innings. TIU scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extras before completing the comeback two frames later.
Lindberg finished the second game of the day with not just the game-winning hit, but the freshman recorded the win on the mound as well, pitching the final two innings in relief.
Ryan Helmeid set the table in the bottom of the 11th with his leadoff double that dropped just fair inside the right field line. The Trojan outfielder finished 3-for-5 in the second game of the day, scoring two big runs during the comeback.After a first-inning run gave Trinity International (8-20, 4-11 CCAC) the early lead,
Daniel Wawrzyniak pitched five strong innings, shutting out the Tiger hitters until a sixth-inning rally put Olivet Nazarene (14-22, 8-9 CCAC) in front, 4-1.
Junior outfielder
Cameron Stanley cut into the deficit with a solo home run in the seventh, clearing the wall down the right field line. The shot was Stanley's first of the season, and made it a 5-2 ONU lead.
The game-tying rally started in the bottom of the ninth, when
Jacob Scheibe, Helmeid, and Lindberg led off the inning with three straight singles. The first run came across on a groundout from
Adam Vignola, before
A.J. Bruner's infield single allowed a pair of runners to score and tie the game.
The Trojan bullpen kept their team in the ballgame; after Wawrzyniak left the game at the end of seven innings,
Ben Hylander and
Keegan Nichols (in his first appearance of the year) pitched a hitless eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Lindberg then came in for the final two innings, giving up just one base hit.
In the first game of the day, the offense struggled, collecting just three hits en route to a shutout loss, 7-0. Starting pitcher
Nick Robinson looked strong through the first four innings, but a pair of three-run rallys in the fifth and sixth put the game out of reach and in favor of the Tigers.
After going a combined 3-for-7 at the plate, Lindberg stretches his hitting streak to 10 games, now the longest hit streak of the season by any TIU hitter.
Trinity International is back in action tomorrow, when they host the Roosevelt Lakers in a single game. First pitch at the TIU Baseball Field is set for 3:30 p.m.
