Leesburg, Fla. - The Trinity College Bantams gave up eight runs in the top of the ninth inning in a season-opening 12-6 loss to the William Paterson University Pioneers in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational action this evening at Pat Thomas Stadium.  The Pioneers improve to 5-2 with their third victory in a row.  Trinity faces Dickinson in a twinbill tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Trinity trailed, 4-1, after the Pioneers scored twice in the top of the seventh inning, but scored four times in the bottom of the inning.  Trinity sophomores Cooper Mooney (Southbury, Conn.) and Brendan Pierce (Hingham, Mass.) each smacked two-run doubles in the bottom of the seventh frame to put the Bantams ahead for the first time in the game, 6-4.  William Paterson tied the score in the top of the ninth inning on two singles, a passed ball, and three walks, and two more runs scored on a Bantam throwing error to push the Pioneers back ahead, 6-4. William Paterson scored four more runs in the inning, and the Pioneers turned a double play after hitting Pierce to start the bottom of the final frame for two of the game's final three outs.

Senior LHP Jed Robinson (Winchester, Mass.) went eight innings and scattered nine hits while yielding two earned runs and walking one with four strikeouts.  Classmate Sam Jordan (Sherborn, Mass.) took the loss, allowing four hits and walking four.  Two of the eight Pioneeer runs in the ninth inning and only four of the 12 in the game were earned, as Trinity committed three costly errors.  Trinity senior co-captain Scott Cullinane (East Greenwich, R.I.) singled home first-year CF Geoff Stillman (Scituate, Mass.) for the first Trinity run that had tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning, and both finished with two hits in the game.