SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -- Trailing by as much as six runs early on, the Trinity International Trojans rallied but fell just short, dropping the first of a three game set to the Roosevelt Lakers, 9-8 on Friday afternoon. The Trojans scored one run in the ninth, but left the bases loaded with the tying and go-ahead runs aboard as the game ended.

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Roosevelt used a two-run 1st inning, and added five more runs in the 2nd, to claim a 7-1 advantage. Trinity made up most of the deficit right away, scoring four runs on three hits in the top of the 3rd.

The first three batters all reached safely, as Ryan Helmeid, Jeff Lindberg and Cameron Stanley loaded the bases. Adam Vignola then drew a walk to score the second run of the day for the Trojans. 

After Adam Gomski's groundout drove home another run, Andrew Grotelueschen hit a two-out, two-RBI single through the right side to make it a 7-5 score.

Roosevelt added another score during a middle stretch of the game that saw both pitching staffs start to settle in. Both teams combined for just one hit from the 5th through 7th innings, as Daniel Wawrzyniak and Jeremiah Carter made appearances on the mound during that span.

The Lakers added one run in the bottom of the 8th, which proved to be the difference, giving Roosevelt a 9-7 edge heading into the 9th. Adam Vignola's one-out single allowed Jeff Lindberg to score after reaching base on a hit-by-pitch. Trinity would load the bases with two out, but were unable to push across the game-tying run to keep the game alive.

Five different Trojans - Stanley, Vignola, Gomski, Jon Debowey, and Helmeid - collected two hits in the game, as the team had 12 hits as a whole. Gomski extended his hitting streak to seven straight games, his longest of the year.

The Trojans return home on Saturday afternoon, when they host the Lakers in a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m.