(Story courtesy of Trinity University Athletics Communications)
EASTLAKE, Ohio – The sixth-ranked Trinity University baseball team suffered a 13-2 loss to No. 15 Rowan University (NJ) in an elimination game at the NCAA III College World Series on Sunday.
The Tigers (41-10) and the Profs (37-11) met for the first time and Rowan earned the right to continue on in the double-elimination tournament. Trinity struck first with two runs in the second inning, but Rowan scored 13 unanswered points from the fifth inning on to power past the Tigers.
Trinity was limited to just four hits in the game and was also slowed down by hitting into three double plays. The Profs pounded out 15 hits, putting up six runs in the fifth, then added five more in the seventh, and the final two in the top of the eighth.
Jake Beck started the game for Trinity and after allowing a leadoff hit in the first inning, he retired 10 consecutive batters. In the meantime, Will Baker drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the second, then moved to third on a double in the gap in left-center by Brandon Nelson. Two batters later, Khalfani Coney slashed a two-run single through the right side of the infield to put the Tigers up 2-0.
After Trinity hit into its second double play of the game to end the fourth inning, Beck's streak was broken up in the top of the fifth by way of a leadoff home run to put Rowan on the board. The Profs followed with a double to chase Beck from the game. Wes Hellings came in from the bullpen, but gave up a go-ahead two-run homer and suffered the loss to fall to 2-1 this season.
Trinity’s final double play came in the bottom of the sixth, and Rowan carried that momentum into the seventh. The Profs added five more runs to their total to take an 11-2 lead and essentially put the game out of reach. The Tigers had base runners in the sixth and eighth innings but were never able to string any offense together after the second inning and collected their last hit in the fifth.
Trinity finishes the season with 41 wins, which is the second-most in school history and only the second 40-win season in school history. This marked the fourth NCAA III College World Series appearance for the program – all of which have come since 2015.
