BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- The Trojan baseball offense was on full display on Saturday afternoon as TIU hosted the Sabercats of Maranatha Baptist in a non-conference doubleheader at the TIU Baseball Field. Coming off two difficult losses on Thursday at St. Francis (IL), Trinity looked to rebound at home to close out a week that saw them play five games in three days earlier in the week.

With Lance Louchheim on the mound in game one, the Trojans went to work immediately as Sam Willis hit a solo home run to left field on the very first pitch of the first inning to put TIU up early. From there it would be an avalanche of offensive output for the blue and white as Willis went yard for a second time in the third to tie the game at 2-2 after MBU took a brief lead.

After Blake Lazaris scored on a passed ball, Luis Henriquez drove in two runs on a single to center in the fourth inning to score Lazaris and Matt Pierson. Trinity would score two more runs in the fourth on a Jalen Austin triple and Lazaris groundout before Willis hit a historic third home run of the game to make it 8-2 in TIU's favor in the sixth. 

Julius Torre  would score on a stolen base and Pierson would drive home Lazaris in the sixth to give the Trojans a 10-2 win in their opener. Louchheim would go the distance for Trinity pitching all seven innings of game one with six strikeouts and no walks while allowing just two earned runs.

After facing difficulties with injury throughout the season, Ian Ryan would start game two of the doubleheader in what would be his final pitching appearance of his career. Not only would Ryan finish the pitching portion of his baseball career well, his teammates would put him in a position to win the game as the starter as the Trojans dropped five runs on the Sabercats in the first inning as Kurtis Sippy and Lazaris notched run scoring hits, while Torres scored Lazaris on a sacrifice fly to center field. Zorion Pullen would make it 5-0 in TIU's favor with a two-run single into center field to bring home Henriquez and Austin.

Pierson would record a pair of doubles in the second and fourth innings to drive in three total runs, while Henriquez brought home Pierson on an RBI single to center in the fourth. Pullen notched his first career extra base hit with an RBI triple in the same inning to make it 10-2 Trinity. Willis, Henriquez and Jose Matos would put the final touches on the blowout victory late as Willis launched his fourth home run of the day over the left field fence, followed by a solo shot by Henriquez a few batters later. Matos would bring TIU's final run home as he reached base on an error by the MBU right fielder to score Dominik Olech and give the Trojans the dominant 13-3 win in game two.

ADDITIONAL SERIES NOTES

• Saturday's sweep improves Trinity's all-time record against Maranatha Baptist to 10-1. TIU has now won seven straight against the Sabercats.

• Saturday's wins marks the first time since the Trojans swept Alice Lloyd in a doubleheader on March 11 that TIU has won consecutive games.

• Lance Louchheim picked up his first pitching win of the season to go to 1-0 on the year. It was also his first victory on the mound of his career.

• With his three home runs in game one, Sam Willis became the first Trojan in school history to hit three home runs in a single game. His historic milestone also set single game program records for home runs in a non-conference game, at home, and in a win.

• Willis' four total home runs bring his season total to eight on the year, leading all Trojans on the roster. His eight long balls tie him with Scott Lawson for eighth on the program's single-season home run list.

• Willis' four home runs on Saturday give him ten on his career, tying him with Steven Collado (2010-12) and Kyle Keller (2006-09) for sixth most all-time in program history.

• Willis' four long balls give him six on the week, after posting solo shots against St. Francis (IL) and Saint Xavier earlier in the week.

• Saturday's opener was the third multi-home run game for Trinity this season.

• Starting his final career game as a pitcher due to injury in game two, Ian Ryan earned the first win of his career to even his pitching record on the year at 1-1.

• Kurtis Sippy, who started game two as TIU's designated hitter earned his first collegiate hit in his first at bat, also recording an RBI and scoring a run.

• Trinity's 13 runs scored in game two are the most they've scored in a single game and in a win this year.

• The Trojans hit seven extra base hits in game two, including four doubles, one triples, and two solo home runs.

• Dominik Olech and Zorion Pullen each stole two bases in game two. Pullen now leads the team with seven stolen bags this season.

UP NEXT

The Trojans (11-18) will return to action on Monday afternoon as they visit the Trinity Christian Trolls in a CCAC doubleheader at the Shaaf Athletic Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00pm in Palos Heights, and can be watched LIVE on the TCC Troll 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.