CHICAGO, Ill. -- In the first of a three-game series scheduled as a matchup at home, Trinity International was forced to hit the road, falling at St. Xavier 17-6, as the TIU Baseball Field continues to dry out from recent thunderstorms.

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The Trojans had a strong day at the plate, as ten different players reached base in the game. An SXU rally in the 4th inning proved to be the difference however, as the Cougars put nine runs on the board.

SXU took their first lead of the day with two runs on three hits in the top of the 1st. The Trojans moved in front in the bottom half of the frame, with home runs from Adam Vignola and A.J. Bruner to give Trinity a 3-2 advantage.

The lead was short-lived however, as St. Xavier answered with three runs in the top of the 2nd, and nine more in the 4th, for a 14-3 lead.

Trinity earned a run back in the bottom of the 5th, when Vignola and Adam Gomski led off the inning with back-to-back walks. Andrew Grotelueschen brought Vignola home on a fielding error by the SXU third baseman, to cut the deficit to ten.

The Cougars got that run back in the top of the 6th, then added two more in the 7th, before Trinity scored twice, on RBI singles from Austin Galley and Jon Grotelueschen. TIU were unable to avoid the 1-run rule, however, leaving the two runs they needed to stay alive on base before the Cougars retired the side.

Ryan Helmeid had the lone multi-hit performance of the day for TIU, going 2-for-4 with a double. Ben Hylander pitched two shutout innings in relief, finishing out the 4th inning and keeping the Cougars of the board in the 5th while allowing just two hits.

Trinity and St. Xavier will match up again Saturday afternoon, for a doubleheader scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Ferrell Field at SXU.