Quick Notes

 • Trinity International begins the CCAC portion of the 2017 season on Friday, when they head east to take on the Indiana-South Bend Titans.
 • The Trojans opened the spring season by going 5-5 at the Historic Dodgertown Invitational, then splitting a pair of games with Lincoln Christian (Ill.) and Maranatha Baptist (Wisc.) last Saturday.
 • With their 5-5 mark in Florida, Trinity posted its best record during the traditional Spring Break trip since 2010, when the Trojans finished 5-4 while competing in California and Arizona.
 • Freshman pitcher Chris Isaac is the CCAC leader in ERA, at 0.56 through 32.1 innings pitched. The Monroe, N.C. native ranks 2nd nationally in the NAIA.
 • Isaac also leads the team with three wins, with a 3-3 record over six apperances. Isaac has held opponents to a .178 batting average with 29 strikeouts.
 • Freshman center fielder Nick Gehrt leads the Trojan offense with a .433 batting average, .561 on-base percentage, and a .533 slugging percentage. Gehrt has reached base in all 12 games this spring, the longest streak by any player for Trinity this season.
 • Senior third baseman Adam Gomski is hitting .359, the second-highest average for TIU. Gomski went 5-for-7 in the fall and collected at least one hit in his first four games of the year.
 • Senior infielder Justin VanderNaald has the team's third-best batting average at .354, and leads the team with 17 base hits, 4 doubles, and 14 RBI. In five of his last six games dating back to Mar. 7, VanderNaald has two or more hits, and a combined eight RBI, hitting .550 during that time.
 • Sophomore pitcher Jordan Alvernaz has posted a 2-1 record with a 2.14 ERA through three starts this spring. On the season, Alvernaz has thrown 21 innings over seven appearances, and has allowed just three earned runs over his last five games.
 • Sophomore first baseman Michael Balistreri is hitting .314 on the year, and has started all 16 games this season. Balistreri had the team's longest hitting streak of the season, with a base hit in seven straight games in Florida from Mar. 4-10.
 • Senior shortstop Jeff Lindberg has started every game this year, and leads the team with 13 runs scored. Hitting .261 on the season, Lindberg has driven in ten RBI and is tied for the team lead with five stolen bases on just five attempts.
 • Senior catcher Joel Stephenson is hitting .391 in just ten appearances this season with a pair of doubles. In the win over Lawrence Tech (Mich.) on Mar. 9, Stephenson had his best game of the early season, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI in a 7-3 win.
 • Freshman Jacob Hood has made nine appearances primarly as a pinch/courtesy runner, and is tied for the team lead with five stolen bases on the year. Hood also has five runs scored, and drove in the Trojans' lone RBI in game two against Trinity Christian on Oct. 8.
 • The Trojans are hitting .291 as a team this season, the 7th-highest average in the CCAC. Indiana-South Bend rank just above TIU at 6th, also with a .291 average.
 • Trinity has posted a team ERA of 3.38, the lowest in the CCAC and 13th in the NAIA. Indiana-South Bend rank 10th in the conference, with an 8.24 ERA.
 • Last season, Trinity finished with a 23-24-1 record, just shy of the first winning season for the program since 2010.
 

About Indiana-South Bend

 • The Trojans lead the all-time series over the Titans 2-0, with the first meeting coming last season when Indiana-South Bend started their baseball program.
 • The Trojans posted their highest run total of any doubleheader last season, defeating the Titans by scores of 14-5 and 15-7.
 • This season, Indiana-South Bend are off to a 7-10 start. After winning six of their first nine to start the season, the Titans have gone 1-7 since Mar. 10.
 • Spencer McCool leads the Titans with a .435 average, good for 36th in the NAIA.
 • Kyle Rago has a 5.31 ERA to lead the Titans' pitching staff. Rago and Tyler Reece each have 2-1 records, leading the team in victories.

 

Trojans in the Polls

 • TIU Baseball was picked to finish 11th out of 12 in the CCAC preseason poll, released on Nov. 7
 • The Trojans are have yet to earn a spot in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, dating back to the poll's debut in 2000.

 

TIU Baseball History

 • Since 2006, Trinity Baseball has an all-time record of 202-298-1 (.404). The Trojans' last winning season came in 2010, when TIU finished 30-23.
 • Trinity's last appearance in the CCAC Tournament came in 2011, when the Trojans went 3-2, reaching the CCAC final before falling to St. Francis.
 • The Trojans have made four appearances at the NCCAA National Championship, for the first time in 1998, and three straight years from 2005-2007. Trinity holds a 3-8 all-time record at the NCCAA National Championship.

 

Up Next

 • Trinity makes their home field debut next week, when they host the Purdue-Northwest Pride on Wednesday, Mar. 29.
 • Trinity then continues the early CCAC schedule with a three-game series against Robert Morris. The Eagles come to Deerfield for a single game on Friday, Mar. 31.
 • The Trojans then take on the Eagles in a doubleheader in Bensenville, Ill., on Saturday, Apr. 1.