BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- The TIU baseball team returned home on Monday afternoon as they welcomed the Crimson Wave of Calumet St. Joseph to campus for a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) doubleheader. Entering the day following a tough series with Saint Ambrose, the Trojans were hopeful to bounce back into the win column.

Dominik Olech would start game one for Trinity in search of his second win of the season. TIU got things started in the bottom of the first inning as Luis Henriquez stole third base then scored on an error by the Crimson Wave catcher. Julius Torres would also cross home plate after being driven in on a Matt Pierson RBI double to center to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead. 

CCSJ responded with five runs over the next three innings before Henriquez drove a single into left field to score Sam Willis and Lance Louchheim to make it a one-run game. Torres would follow up Henriquez's RBI with one of his own as he drove in Zorion Pullen on a groundout to third to tie the game at five. 

In the fifth, Pierson would score Trinity's final run of the game after a Louchheim single and error by the right fielder to give the Trojans a 6-5 lead. Unfortunately, CCSJ would score twice late in the sixth and seventh innings to hand TIU the 7-6 loss.

In game two, the Trojans handed the ball to Kurtis Sippy, looking to snap a tough losing streak on the mound. Things didn't start off well as the Crimson Wave scored three off the senior right-handed pitcher out of the gate. TIU would respond however with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, including a Torres RBI single to score Henriquez, and a Willis groundout to the shortstop to bring home Torres.

While that would be all the TIU offense could put together, Sippy would take control of the game with an impressive stretch, striking out a program record 13 batters in eight and one-third innings of work. Sippy would allow one run in the top of the fifth as CCSJ held off any chance of a Trojan comeback, handing the blue and white a 4-2 loss.

ADDITIONAL SERIES NOTES

• With Monday's losses, the Trojans fell to 12-19 all-time against Calumet St. Joseph. TIU has now dropped ten of their last 12 games to the Crimson Wave.

• Monday's losses extend Trinity's losing streak to six games, the longest of the year.

• Dominik Olech fell to 1-2 as a pitcher with his loss in game one.

• Sam Willis led TIU with three hits in four plate appearances in game one, including a double and a stolen base.

• Matt Pierson's game one double was his 12th of the season, tied for the sixth most in a single TIU season. It was also his 41st career double, extending his own all-time school record.

• Kurtis Sippy fell to 1-8 on the season with the loss in game two, his seventh straight losing decision.

• Sippy's 13 strikeout game set four single-game school records for the Trojans. Most strikeouts in a game, most in a game against a CCAC opponent, most in a home game, and most in a loss.

• Sippy is just the second pitcher in the CCAC this season to strikeout 13 batters in a single game. Roosevelt's Tom Jager struckout 13 in a non-conference game against Viterbo back on March 5.

• Sippy's 13 K's give him 47 on the season, tying Caleb Johnson for fifth most in a season.

• Sippy sits at 71 career strikeouts after Monday's performance, passing Richie Frank (2006-08) for eighth on the program's all-time strikeout list.

• Luis Henriquez's double in game two was the 16th of his career.

UP NEXT

The Trojans (12-25) return to action on Thursday afternoon as they host the Trolls of Trinity Christian at home in a single nine inning conference game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30pm 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.