Abilene, Texas - Trinity's top-ranked baseball team finished off its trip to Abilene with a 16-4 win over Hardin-Simmons University on Monday evening.

Earlier in the day, the Tigers posted a 7-0 shutout victory against McMurry University.  The 16-run effort against the Cowboys puts Trinity at 27-5 this season, while Hardin-Simmonns fell to 16-11. The Tigers hammered out 31 total hits in the two games - including 21 in the nightcap against Hardin-Simmons.

"It comes down to a concentration level," said Head Coach Tim Scannell about the team's big offensive output. "Offensively, when we don't try and do too much, and concentrate on squaring the ball, we have a deep offense, 1-9. When we get big and long, and a little greedy, then we just have an average offense."

Connor Moore sparked a three-run first inning for the Tigers with a home run to lead off the game, and Drew Butler kept the long ball trend going with a two-run shot later in the inning.  It was the first of two round-trippers for Butler, who also crushed a three-run shot the very next inning.

After the top of the second, Trinity had a commanding 6-0 lead, but the home team would not go down without a fight.  Hardin-Simmons got on the board with a run in the second to start a rally, added two more in the third, and then closed to within two runs with another score in the fifth.  

The Tigers answered in a big way with another long ball.  This time it came off the bat of red-hot Jeremy Wolf, who sent a grand slam over the wall in right-center.  Trinity added six more runs in the final two innings to ensure a comfortable victory in the end.

Wolf had a big night in the batter's box, going 5-5 with two doubles, picking up three runs to go with his four RBI. He has now driven in a team-best 45 runs for the Tigers this season. Butler hit 3-5 with five RBI, and scored four runs in the game. Andrew Waters went 4-5 at the plate, with two doubles, and three runs scored.

Andrew Hoffman (2-1) earned the win in relief, allowing no runs on just three hits, and striking out three batters. Troy Nelson and Chris Tate finished off the final two scoreless innings, adding five more strikeouts to the team total.  After not recording any strikeouts in the first four frames, those three Tiger pitchers combined for eight K's in the final five innings.

"Butler had a big night with two home runs, but he hit the ball hard all night," concluded Coach Scannell. "A big moment in the game was Wolf's grand slam, when the game was starting to close in. He hit a grand slam that put us way ahead. We had good pitching off the back end from Hoffman, Nelson, and Tate."

Trinity will host three big Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference games against Texas Lutheran University this weekend. The two teams currently sit atop the SCAC standings. Friday's game begins at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday's doubleheader starts at 1:00 p.m. The Tiger seniors will be honored during Saturday's twinbill.