Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

Palos Heights — Due to heavy rainstorms in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the Trinity Christian vs. Viterbo University doubleheader was rescheduled to Trinity’s home field.

Just a day earlier, the teams faced off in a doubleheader where the Trolls and V-Hawks split. Trinity won 4-2 while Viterbo took the second game 3-2.

When the two teams met again on March 9 at Schaaf Athletics Complex, the first game was knotted in the sixth inning at 2-2. It would take until the top of the ninth when senior outfielder Taiki Kondo hit a single to third base, bringing in freshmand Caden Quigg for what would become the game-winning run.

FINAL Game One: Trinity Christian 3, Viterbro 2.

Kondo’s game-winning RBI earned him the WCCN Player of the Game honors.

In the second contest, the sun kept making appearances but never for more than two or three minutes at a time. The brief sunshine helped warm the field, reaching 72 degrees, while a light wind cooled things slightly.

The heat carried over to the bats for Trinity.

In the first two innings, the Trolls added six runs. The biggest moment came when Josh Pilgrim hit a single that brought in two RBIs, scoring junior Benson Holleman and junior Zach Heese to make the game 4-0.

From there, they scored four more runs.

FINAL Game Two: Trinity Christian 8, Viterbo 3.

This early offensive performance helped extend Trinity’s lead and earned Pilgrim, a senior catcher from Canada, the WCCN Player of the Game. On the day he went 3-5 at the plate bringing in 2 RBIs.

WCCN spoke with Pilgrim after the game and he talked about that at-bat.

“I’ve really just been feeling comfortable at the plate,” said Pilgrim. “Always been thinking [about] trying to go backside and he threw me one in, so I was able to pull it. It was more of a reaction. Ended up hitting [a line drive] and scored the two. Did the job.”

The second game of the doubleheader was a seven-inning contest. Going the distance was senior pitcher Matthew Toledo, who struck out five batters.

Pilgrim and Toledo’s chemistry goes beyond just baseball.

“Yeah, that’s my boy. I caught him last year,” he stated happily. “That’s my roommate. So, we got a really good connection. There’s a lot of trust between us. So, we just feel very comfortable throwing back and forth.”

Being a team makes winning fun, but being a family means even more.

“I spend a lot of time with the team,” added Pilgrim. “I live in one of the houses, so we always invite people over. We are a big community. We’re a big family, so it’s nice.”

Finally, Pilgrim talked about how the team plans to keep the momentum going.

“I hope we just keep the same energy. You know, we’ve been doing really good, staying strong, staying committed to each other. We’re always picking each other up, which is great. So, just moving forward, [we’re] keeping the same exact thing we’re doing now.”

“Shout out Canada. Roll Trolls!”

The Trinity Christian Trolls are currently 9-7 on the season and 3-1 in the CCAC, placing them second in the conference. Their next game is at home on March 13 against the University of St. Francis Fighting Saints, who are in first place with a 7-9 overall record and a 4-0 mark in conference play.

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