Abilene, Texas - Trinity's baseball team split a road doubleheader at Hardin-Simmons University on Tuesday afternoon, losing the opener 3-2, but bouncing back with a 5-1 win in the finale.

Trinity, which entered the week as the top-ranked team in Division III, jumped ahead with a run in the first inning of game one.  Hardin-Simmons got a two-run hit with two outs in the fourth to take the lead.  Tiger starter Ben Klimesh actually got a strikeout that would have ended the winning, but the batter reached first on a wild pitch. 

The Tigers tied the game in the sixth, as Nick Pappas drove in his second run of the game.  In the first inning, he scored Ryan Schweers on a sacrifice fly.  Pappas finished 1-2 in the game, collecting one of just four Trinity hits.

In the seventh, Klimesh allowed a leadoff walk and two singles (one on a bunt) to start the inning, then recorded a strikeout.  A single to center field ended the game with the bases still loaded.

Klimesh (9-1) took his first loss of the season, despite striking out 11 batters in 6.1 innings of work.  He allowed three runs on eight hits, and also walked four hitters.

In game two, Ryan Lucero (8-0) remained unbeaten with another solid pitching performance for the Tiger staff.  Lucero allowed one unearned run on four hits, striking out eight and walking just one in his complete-game victory. 

Pappas drove in three more runs and picked up two more hits in the second game, giving him five RBI for seven total Trinity runs scored on the day.  He started the game with another first-inning sac fly to put the Tigers on top 1-0.

Trinity took a 3-0 lead after single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, before HSU finally broke through with a run in the bottom of the sixth - taking advantage of one of three Trinity errors in the game.  Pappas knocked a two-run single into right field in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Dominick Robusto scored two runs in the second game, going 1-3 at the plate.  Kevin Clements also drove in one run, while Nick Griffith and Kevin Francke also scored for the Tigers.

Trinity will resume Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, taking on Southwestern University in a three-game series.  The Tigers and Pirates play a Friday afternoon doubleheader, followed by the regular season series finale between the two on Saturday.