PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- The Trinity Christian College baseball team swept Viterbo in both games Monday (March 9) as both teams concluded their series. The Trolls won game one, 3-2, and took the second contest 8-3.
TEAM RECORDS
Trinity Christian 9-7, 3-1 CCAC | Viterbo 2-10, 1-3 CCAC
GAME 1: Trinity Christian 3, Viterbo 2
Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the first five innings of the contest before Trinity Christian broke through in the sixth with a pair of runs to take a 2-0 lead.
Hector Mendoza drove in Jayden Hamilton with an RBI groundout to give the Trolls a 1-0 lead. Shane Jones followed with an RBI single to score Caden Quigg and extend the lead to 2-0.
Viterbo responded in the bottom half of the sixth with two runs of its own to tie the game at 2-2. The Trolls regained the lead in the top of the ninth after Taiki Kondo ripped an infield single to third base, scoring Quigg for the 3-2 victory.
Drew Wanicki picked up the win in relief after pitching 2.2 innings, allowing two hits while walking one and striking out six. Noah McFadzean recorded his first save of the season after a 1-2-3 ninth inning with two strikeouts to secure the victory.
GAME 2: Trinity Christian 8, Viterbo 3
Trinity Christian scored the first six runs of the contest over the first two innings. The Trolls plated two in the first after Ty Chaney Jr. grounded into a double play that scored Jayden Hamilton.
Shane Jones followed with an RBI single to left field to score Caden Quigg and make it 2-0. Josh Pilgrim added to the lead in the second with a two-run single to left, scoring Benson Holleman and Zach Heese.
Mendoza and Quigg later scored to make it 60 after Jones reached on a throwing error by the V-Hawks pitcher. Viterbo got its first run of the contest in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 6-1.
The Trolls added two more runs in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 8-1. Holleman ripped an RBI double to left field, scoring Heese, and Hamilton followed with an RBI single to bring Holleman home.
The V-Hawks tried to get back in the game after scoring one run in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the Trolls held on for the 8-3 victory. Matthew Toledo (1-2) recorded the complete-game win after pitching all seven innings, allowing 10 hits and three runs while walking two and striking out five.
UP NEXT
Trinity Christian will be back in action this Friday (March 13) as the Trolls host University of St. Francis (Ill.) for a doubleheader starting at noon CT.
