SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- The Trojan baseball team hit the road on Tuesday afternoon as they battled the Titans of Indiana University South Bend in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play. After losing their first three conference games to Judson over the weekend, the Trojans looked to pick up their first wins in CCAC action.

In game one of the doubleheader, Dominik Olech earned starting duties on the mound in his fourth pitching appearance of the season. Luis Henriquez and Noah Waltz would open up the scoring in the afternoon as they crossed home plate on a two-run double by Blake Lazaris in the third inning. Brendan Lacey would make it 3-0 in favor of Trinity as he took a bases loaded walk, while Jose Matos earned his first RBI of the day after being hit by a pitch thrown by Titan's reliever Jaidyn Morris. TIU would cap a strong third inning offensively with a two-run single by Noah Waltz to the right side of the field to score Lacey and Jalen Austin to give the Trojans a 6-0 lead.

IU-South Bend would gradually chip away at TIU's lead throughout the opening game, but the Trojans would get some insurance runs in the top of the seventh as Julius Torres drove home Waltz on a single. Matt Pierson would bring Trinity's final two runs home on a double to center field, scoring Torres and Henriquez, and giving the Trojans a 9-6 lead. Waltz would move from second base to the mound to close out the game. Despite giving up two late runs and allowing the Titans to have the game-winning run in scoring position, Waltz notched a key strikeout and groundout to secure the save, give reliever Austin Salemi the victory, and the Trojans their first CCAC win of the season, 9-8.

Jio Ledesma would start for the second game of the doubleheader and would struggle to cool off the hot bats of the Titans from the end of game one. Trinity was able to open the scoring in the top of the first as Jalen Austin drove in Lazaris, but it would be TIU's only run of the game. IU-South responded with a two-run home run in their first inning on offense, and ultimately hang a third on Ledesma. The Trojans also struggled to find the strike zone, walking seven Titan batters in the second game as IU-South Bend rolled to a 7-1 win to split the afternoon.

ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES

• With today's split, TIU's all-time record against IU-South Bend now sits at 7-5.

• The Trojans and Titans will meet one more time during the regular season, for a single game on April 20 in Deerfield.

• With his pitching win in game one, Austin Salemi evens his record at 1-1. The win was the first of the freshman's collegiate career.

• Noah Waltz's game one save was the first of his career.

• Matt Pierson's two doubles in game one moved him past Jon Debowey (2013-16) as the program's all-time leader in total bases.

• Samuel Edington led TIU in game one with three hits in his five plate appearances, including one double.

• Trinity saw only one batter strikeout in game one, with Jalen Austin striking out swinging in the top of the sixth inning.

• Jio Ledesma falls to 0-2 on the season with the loss in game two.

• Jalen Austin led the Trojans in game two at the plate, batting 2-3 including one double, an RBI and one walk.

UP NEXT

The Trojans (7-8) will return to action on Friday afternoon as they welcome the Olivet Nazarene Tigers to Deerfield for a single game in the first official home game on the season. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00pm CST from TIU Baseball Field, and can be watched LIVE on the Trojan Sports Network.

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Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness and lifelong learning.