DEERFIELD, Ill. — Last weekend the Trojans wrapped up their 2023 regular season campaign with a wild series against the Fighting Bees of St. Ambrose University. Starting off the three-game stint, Trinity hit the road to Iowa on Friday afternoon before returning home to host the Bees on Saturday afternoon as they honored seven graduating seniors before the opening pitch on TIU Baseball Field.

Game One: TIU 1, SAU 18
Friday afternoon the Trojans got off to a rocky start and they would never recover. Despite playing a near perfect game defensively with just a single error, Trinity fell behind early as the Fighting Bees jumped ahead 18 runs in the first three innings. In the back half of the inning, the Trojans scored their lone run of the game before falling to the run rule. Pinch hitting for Seth Lewallen, senior Blake Bruce collected an infield single before the Fighting Bees hurler began to falter, giving up a wild pitch then walking two to send Bruce around the bases and across home plate.

TIU recorded six hits throughout the game. Blake Lazaris claimed two while four other Trojans collected one each. In total, Trinity was handed four walks.

Brady Popovich took the loss for TIU with Aaron Malone and Alfonso Gomez coming in as relief. Gomez struck out two in his 3.1 innings.

Game Two: TIU 3, SAU 10
Back in Deerfield, the Trojans faced a different sort of adversity as their senior day festivities and doubleheader were delayed nearly two hours after a rainstorm rolled through the area. After the Trojan crew spent over an hour and a half preparing the field for play, the coaching staff took the field to greet their seniors and present them with a commemorative wooden bat as each was called by name while their career accolades were read over the PA system. In front of a crowd of almost 100 fans, Trinity honored seven young men for their accomplishments during their time at TIU: Julius Torres, Jackson Schutzenhofer, Jose Matos, Blake Bruce, Jimmy Cisneros, Blake Lazaris and Dillon Lloyd.

Following the ceremony, it was time to play ball! The Fighting Bees put up three runs in their first at bat before the Trojans took their swings. Julius Torres led off for TIU with a single before advancing to second base on a throwing error. Blake Lazaris followed shortly after with a base hit to right field and the speedy Torres scored one for the home team.

After adding two more in the second inning, St. Ambrose was retired in short order by relief pitcher Riley Murphy. With a burst of defensive spark, the Trojans caught momentum offensively as well with Jonathan Kumai and Blake Lazaris recording a double and single, respectively, to help put two runs on the board for TIU and cut the score to 3-5. Another solid defensive stand in the fourth inning gave the Trojans opportunity to build their attack as Jose Matos and Elisa Marquez each grabbed a base hit, but unfortunately the two Trojans would be left on base as the Fighting Bees stood firm.

Trailing by four into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Trojans looked to score a couple of runs as Lazaris and Jimmy Cisneros landed back to back hits and Matos walked to fill the bases. Again, the Trojans were left stranded as the Fighting Bees closed out the inning with a final pop out.

St. Ambrose would add two more runs in the sixth inning, while still holding Trinity scoreless in the final four innings. Despite recording more hits than the visitors (13-8), TIU struggled to string together scoring plays when needed most and dropped the first of the doubleheader.

Game Three: TIU 4, SAU 4
A quick turnaround due to waning daylight, the two sides took the field again without much of a break and with an agreement from the umpires that they would play until it became too dark to continue safely. The Fighting Bees opened the scoring in the first inning again as their lead off hitter sailed a home run over the fence. Down by two in the bottom of the third inning, Trinity put their first run on the board from an RBI single by Jonathan Kumai.

A scoreless fourth inning left one on base for both teams before the Trojans scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth. As the Fighting Bees hurler began to struggle, Trinity capitalized on back to back walks before a well-placed sac bunt from Julius Torres put two runners in scoring position. A third walk left TIU with bases loaded and forced a pitching staff change as Blake Lazaris stepped to the plate. The Trojan all-time leading hitter smashed a 2 RBI double to tie the game before a passed ball gave Kumai an opportunity to run home and take the lead. With Lazaris on third base and just one out, the Fighting Bees locked down their defense with consecutive outs and left the fifth year senior stranded.

Another home run from the visiting team tied the game in the top of the sixth inning as the sky darkened and time was running out. Tension rose as each team sought to crack the deadlock but the seventh inning saw just six batters. After giving up back to back base hits and only one out, the Trojan defense came up with the stop as Lazaris and Popovich made routine fly outs to end the inning. Despite benefiting from a pair of walks in the bottom of the eighth, Trinity struggled to convert after the recently subbed in hurler caught his stride and struck out two.

With the score tied 4-4, the umpires determined it too dark to continue and the game was called a draw after eight innings.


The Trojan baseball program will carry on into the postseason, making a run for the NCCAA World Series title. Exact schedule and opponent are still to be determined. Stay tuned to social media and TIUTrojans.com for more information.