ANGOLA, Ind.-- Trine rallied back from an early six-run deficit to defeat Illinois Tech 13-11 in a non-conference game Tuesday evening at Jannen Field.
The Thunder scored 11 runs in the middle three innings to overcome the 8-2 deficit Trine faced entering the bottom of the fourth. The win halted the Scarlet Hawks' winning-streak at 10 games. Six Thunder players notched two hits. Kory Shackle (Butler, Ohio/Mount Vernon) tripled and knocked in a team-high four runs. The triple gave the junior four on the season- a new team-record for the Division-III era, which dates to 2005. Spencer Sutton (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) rapped out his first two career hits and reached base four times in his first career start behind the dish. Trine improved to 10-14 overall. Illinois Tech fell to 12-3.
Drew Palmer (Hartford, Wisc./Hartford Union) got the Thunder on the board in the first with an RBI-groundout to score Ethan Prebynski (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb). Sutton followed with a single to right to score another run as the junior picked up his first-career RBI with his first-career hit.
With a two-hit day, Prebynski is now tied for first at Trine in the Division-III era with 138 career hits.
Things didn't look good for the Thunder after the Scarlet Hawks batted around to score seven times in the second. Brian Colon-Rodriguez capped the inning with a two-run single. Kyle Bumpass and Austin Boos each added run-scoring hits in the innings.
Colon-Rodriguez added an RBI-double in the fourth to make the score 8-2. He had two hits and three RBIs in the game.
Trine was able to rally back however. RJ Flowers (Hamilton, Mich./Hamilton) scored on a passed ball to start the comeback in the fourth. Flowers had two hits and scored three runs in the game.
The Thunder were able to pull back within one with a four-run fifth. Trine loaded the bases with one out. A fielder's choice and a double-steal brought in the first two runs before Prebynski doubled in a run to cut the deficit to two. He later scored on an RBI-single by Flowers.
Sutton, Jake Kendall (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) and Ethan Kirkman (Oregon, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) got on base to load the bases in the sixth for Shackle. The junior scored all three runners with a triple to right to put the Thunder ahead 10-8. He later scored on a throwing error by the catcher. Jordan Baer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Leo) added a two-run single for what would prove to be important insurance runs.
The Scarlet Hawks pushed across three runs in the eighth, two of which were unearned. Jake Weimer (Pittsboro, Ind./Brownsburg) came out of the bullpen to work a scoreless ninth and earn the save.
Jacob Thoma (Granger, Ind./Penn) picked up the victory with three innings of relief work. The freshman improved to 2-0 on the season.
Trine opens up another MIAA series Saturday at Olivet. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.