Four straight wins in the conference tournament helped the Trojans make history this past weekend, claiming their first Crossroads League Championship since 2009.
The Trojans displayed their offensive power at the plate, outscoring opponents 30-21 over the four games of the tournament. Head coach Kyle Gould was pleased with his team's performance this season and is confident in its ability heading into the National Tournament.
"Winning the Conference Tournament was a remarkable accomplishment," Gould said. "We didn't have to win the tournament to move on but the team wanted it so bad. It speaks a lot to the character and the depth of the team. We had many guys coming through in the clutch and doing big things for the team." The championship game was marked by a strong comeback in the seventh by Mount Vernon Nazarene, but a ninth-inning rally propelled the Trojans to a 11-10 victory.
Up 10-3 heading into the seventh, the Trojans thought the win was a lock, but the Cougars proved otherwise, tallying a seven-run rally in the seventh, tying the game at 10-10.
The Trojan's offense did not let emotions stand in their way, quickly putting the go-ahead run in scoring position before a clutch RBI single off the bat of Moore provided the game-winning hit.
Coffey closed the door in the bottom of the inning, getting outstanding defense from York helping keep the Cougars scoreless in their final at bats of the game. Caps and gloves took flight as the Trojans rushed the mound in celebration of their first Crossroads League Championship as a team in four years.
Senior Derek Kinzer contributed a large part of the team's success in the tournament, spearheading the team's run production during the tournament. Kinzer put up impressive numbers at the plate, tallying a .667 on-base percentage and scoring five runs and driving in six over the four games.
"It's just a game and we have to keep that mentality," Kinzer said. "We have to keep playing our game like we have been doing all season. If we can do that I think we can go pretty far in the National Tournament."
Like the Cardiac Kids of the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies, in each of the four games the Trojans never had sole possession of the lead, forcing the club to mount late-game rallies.
"We never gave up," Kinzer said. "As a team, we knew we could win every game and it showed when we had to fight back late in the game even when frustrations were high."
Behind the dish for the Trojans all tournament was senior Luke Hofsommer who has been a strong leader this year.
"It is an incredible feeling to be crowned conference champs," Hofsommer said. "This team's abilities continue to amaze me. With this team, nothing is impossible. We have a bunch of guys who just don't quit."
Heading into the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round hosted at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport Tenn., the Trojans find themselves in a bracket with four teams ranked in the NAIA Top-25 Poll.
The Trojans are the fourth seed in their bracket and took on fifth seeded Benedictine-Springfield in their first game Thursday. The first pitch was set for 11 a.m. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead in the first, but the Trojans mounted five runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and four in the eight to cap the scoring at 10-2. Senior Ryan Baker (6-4) took the mound and gave the Trojans a solid performance. The southpaw allowed only two runs off of 7 hits in his nine innings of work. In the Trojans' night game, they gave up 19 hits to Tennessee Wesleyan as they suffered a 12-4 loss but remain alive in the National Tournament. The Trojans next loss will mean the end of their 2013 campaign.
They will face the winner of Benedictine and Point Park University at 6 p.m. this evening.
