PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. --- After rolling past Maranatha Baptist over the weekend at home, the TIU baseball team returned to Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) action on Monday afternoon as they visited the Trinity Christian Trolls in a doubleheader at the Schaaf Athletic Complex. The Trojans, having struggled recently against conference opponents, looked to start off the new week strong with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.

TIU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game one with Julius Torres scoring on a Sam Edington single, Blake Lazaris crossing home plate thanks to a TCC pitching error, and Edington being driven home on a Jose Matos RBI single. However, the Trolls responded with a five-run first and three run second inning off of Trojan starting pitcher Kurtis Sippy.

Luis Henriquez helped cut the TCC lead in half as Zorion Pullen grounded out to the pitcher in the fourth inning to make it an 8-4 ball game. After another Troll run in the sixth, TIU would score three times in the top of the seventh as Jalen Austin drove home Torres on a ground out to third base, and Henriquez scored Matos and Dominik Olech on a double to left center. The Trojan's comeback would fall short however as they dropped the opener by a 9-7 final.

In game two, TIU turned to Olech on the mound, looking for his first win of the season. Just as in game one, Edington gave the Trojans an early 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single to left to score Torres before the Trolls matched his go-ahead run in the bottom of the inning. Edington would respond by driving in Sam Willis in the fifth to give the Trojans the lead back 2-1.

Henriquez would also score Lazaris from third on a well placed bunt single on the infield, while an Andrew Johnson single down the left field line brough Edington around the bases for a 3-1 Trojan lead. The Trolls would pull back within two runs on an RBI single and solo home run in the fifth and sixth inning, but a Henriquez groundout to second base would be enough to score Lazaris and a key sixth run in the seventh. With TCC picking up a run in the eighth inning, Zorion Pullen, in just his fourth pitching appearance of the year, closed out the final five outs of the game for the save and to secure the 6-4 win for TIU.

ADDITIONAL SERIES NOTES

• Monday's split moves TIU's all-time record against Trinity Christian to 14-34-1. 

• Sam Edington led the Trojans with five hits in six plate appearances with two runs scored and three runs batted in.

• TIU batters combined for three strikeouts at the plate in their two games on Monday, the least number of strikeouts in a doubleheader this season.

• Kurtis Sippy falls to 1-7 on the mound this season with the loss in game one.

• Luis Henriquez's game one double was his second of the year, and fifth extra base hit of the season.

• Julius Torres and Dominik Olech each stole a base in game one. It was Torres' seventh of the year, and Olech's third.

• Olech's win in game two was his first of the season to even his record at 1-1. It was also his third career pitching victory.

• Zorion Pullen's game two save was the first of his career.

UP NEXT

The Trojans (12-19) will return to action on Thursday afternoon as they host the IU-South Bend Titans at home in CCAC action. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00pm at the TIU Baseball Field, and can be watched LIVE on the Trojan Sports Network.

Visit TIUtrojans.com to stay up to date with the latest TIU baseball news and schedule updates.

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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.