Monday, March 8:
In their first game of the week, the Trojans took on Purdue University - North Central (IN). Jacob Genz (6 K, 7 H) took the ball, going 6 1/3 innings and picking up the win, with Zach Bedsworth coming in to shut the door and give the Trojans the 6-5 victory. Josh Pierce provided the early offense with his legs, stealing two bases and scoring on a wild pitch to plate the first run of the day. HLG then put up 5 in the fifth, with 2 hits and a run scored by Josey Garnett and an Andrus Kuilan RBI as the highlights. The Trojans improved to 2-3 with the victory.
Game 2 had the Trojans matched up with Northwestern University (IA), the first of three games that would pit these two teams together. Northwestern got the leg up, knocking off the Trojans 8-5. Josey Garnett gave four solid innings (5 K, 3 ER) while Ryan Crouse got the tough-luck loss, only giving up 1 ER. Bryant Fernetti had 2 hits and an RBI, with Josh Jackson scoring 2 runs and swiping 2 bases. HLG fell to to 2-4.
Tuesday, March 9:
Day 2 had Justin McGhee back on the mound for HLG, trying to avenge the previous day's loss to Northwestern. Without his "best stuff," McGhee still managed a 7-inning, 5 hit performance that kept the Trojans in the game. HLG took advantage of the pitching performance, winning 5-4 in dramatic fashion on a Justin Miller infield single, followed by a Northwestern error that scored a hustling Josh Jackson. Matt Savage was 1-2 on the day with a 2-run home run, his first as a collegian. HLG improved to 3-4.
In the Trojan's second game of the day, Valley Forge Christian College (PA) stood in the way of victory. Eric "Wally" Bruening (4 1/3 IP, 7 K, 1 H)took over with 2 outs in the second inning and pitched his way to his first collegiate win, 9-3. Josh Jackson had a field day on the bases, stealing 4 bags and Clint Hamilton went 3-3 with 2 doubles in his varsity debut. HLG climbed back to 4-4 with the win.
Wednesday, March 10:
This day was not as kind to HLG as the previous had been. HLG found themselves matched up with Bethel University (TN) in the morning game. The Trojans jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first, with a big 2 RBI double by Tyler Leihenseder causing the most damage. Bethel answered with 7 runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and they never looked back. The final was 12-6 in favor of Bethel. HLG fell to 4-5.
The afternoon proved to be just as unkind, with help from Northwestern's offense and lackluster pitching and defensive performances by the Trojans. HLG answered a Northwestern 3 run top of the first with 5 of their own in the bottom half, capped by an Andrus Kuilan 2 RBI single. However, Northwestern jumped right back on top with 4 more in the second. Things got worse and not better, but it finally ended, in 5 innings, with HLG on the short side of a 19-7 score. The Trojans fell to 4-6.
Thursday, March 11:
HLG looked to get back in the "W" column and avenge Wednesday's loss to Bethel in their seventh game of the week. Again, the Trojans struck first on a 2 RBI double by Bryant Fernetti in the top of the first inning. After falling behind, 3-2, HLG rallied for a 5-run inning in the third, punctuated by Matt Savage's 2 RBI triple. HLG headed to the field in the bottom of the fifth inning with a 9-6 lead, but couldn't hold on, eventually falling to Bethel again, 18-9. The Trojans fell to 4-7.
Friday, March 12:
Games cancelled due to rain.
Saturday, March 13:
The Trojans hoped to grab a couple of wins on their way out of town, taking on Trinity Christian College (IL) in a double header on Saturday. Justin McGhee took the ball again for the Trojans, and told his teammates he'd get them back on to the winning ways. He was right. McGhee threw 5 solid innings, allowing only 3 ER. The offense showed up in a big way as well, plating 16 runs. Tyler Leihenseder and Marc Luttrell were both 3-3 while Matt Savage and Andrus Kuilan drove in 3 runs a piece. HLG improved to 5-7 with the 16-4 win.
Jacob Genz got the ball for the second game of twin bill and tried to jump on where Justin McGhee left off. Trinity notched 3 runs in the first and 2 runs (both unearned) in the second, which was not what Genz was looking for. He settled in, however, struck out 11 with issuing a walk, and earned the 8-5, complete game win. Matt Savage had 2 hits, a run scored and an RBI. Travis Mundahl went 3-3 with an RBI as well. Marc Luttrell led the RBI category with 2, including a beautifully executed suicide squeeze. HLG finished up the trip south 5-4, coming home with a 6-7 record overall.
