DEERFIELD, Ill. --- The TIU Trojans ended their season today with a split doubleheader: two opponents, in two different locations. Traveling first to Palos Heights, the Trojans faced the Trolls to complete the series they began last weekend, walking off with the victory on a home run and Coach Shane Gardner's 250th career win. Following that victory, they hopped in the vans to Joliet, Illinois to play the Fighting Bees of Saint Ambrose where they fell by one run.
 
Game One: TIU 10, Trinity Christian 9
Though unable to convert on the scoreboard, Jose Matos and Samuel Edington started the hits for Trinity International as they both notched singles in the first inning.

Alfonso Gomez led off in the bottom of the second with a single, with Ridley Edington hitting the same shortly after. Dominik Olech immediately followed with another single and an added RBI as Gomez crossed the plate to give the Trojas a 1-0 lead.

Both teams went scoreless in the third inning before Trinity Christian connected for a 3 RBI home run in the top of the fourth to take the lead, 1-3.

Ridley Edington stepped to the plate again as lead off in the bottom of the fourth, sailing a home run over the fence. Blake Lazaris, Jose Matos, and Andrew Johnson hit back to back to back singles and Lazaris made it all the way back home. Christian Mackenzie pinch ran for Johnson and as he stole second, Matos ran home on the throw, retaking the lead 4-3.

The Trojans collected three more hits and two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Brady Popovich grabbed his first hit of the day with a single to right field, advancing Alfonso Gomez to third after walking to first. A wild pitch during Lazaris' at bat sent Gomez home before he singled to left field, sending Popovich home. Matos followed with a single to the right side before TIU took over on defense again.

Solid defense held the Trolls scoreless again and the Trojans took the plate for the sixth time. Three singles from Samuel Edington, Seth Lewallen, and Alfonso Gomez set the bases loaded for a sacrifice fly by Ridley Edington as the Trojans scored one more, increasing their lead to 7-3.

Max Amendt got the start for TIU and held the Trolls scoreless in five of six innings, leaving the mound in the middle of the seventh as Christian MacKenzie took over.

Trinity Christian grabbed back one run in the top of the seventh inning after back to back doubles while holding TIU to three batters in the bottom of the inning.

The eighth inning went scoreless again before an explosive final inning.

At the top of the ninth inning, Trinity Christian rallied as they collected four hits and five runs to take the lead 7-9.

With the pressure on, TIU stepped to the plate as Brady Popovich nabbed his second single of the day. Ethan Oskroba was hit by the pitch to take his base before Blake Lazaris squared up to the plate with two runners on base. On his second pitch, Lazaris swung for the fences and earned a walk off home run and victory for the Trojans, 10-9.
 
 
Game Two: TIU 4, Saint Ambrose 5
Picking up where he left off, Blake Lazaris led off for the Trojans again and sailed another home run out of the park on his first pitch in the bottom of the first inning. Jose Matos followed with a single to left field before the Trojans found themselves with two outs. Back to back singles from Alfonso Gomez and Seth Lewallen kept the inning alive and scored another run. Jackson Schutzenhofer stepped to the plate and on a passed ball, Gomez ran home to give the Trojans an early 3-0 lead.

The second inning went scoreless with six batters before the Fighting Bees took back one run in the top of the third.

The score remained 3-1 until the top of the fifth inning when Saint Ambrose took over the lead after scoring three runs.

In the top of the seventh inning, the Fighting Bees added one more to the scoreboard after a Trojan error, 3-5.

Jio Ledesma got the start for TIU as he threw for six scoreless innings and would earn the complete game in the final game of his career.

Trinity tried to rally in the final inning to come from behind but would fall short by one run. Blake Lazaris collected a single to right field to tie TIU baseball's all-time hit record and earn an RBI but Trinity failed to create further momentum and dropped the game.

Wrapping Up:
The Trojans complete their 2022 season with a record of 17-31 overall and 6-24 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. They will celebrate their graduating seniors in a team ceremony this evening on campus.

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.