Box Score Appleton, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team fell 16-6 to Trinity University (Texas) Monday night in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.  The Eagles, making their first appearance in the NCAA III World Series, drops to 35-14 on the season.  The Tigers, also making their first trip to the championship, improves to 40-13 on the year.  The two teams will play again Tuesday, May 26 at 11 a.m. with the winner advancing to the best of three championship series to face the State University of New York at Cortland.

The opening game of the championship series is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26 at 2:30 p.m.  The second and third (if necessary) championship games would be played Wednesday, May 27.

In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, Trinity (Texas) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first Monday.  After UW-L starter Troy Kenkel struck out the first two batters of the game, Jeremy Wolf drew a walk and scored on Drew Butler's two-run home run. 

The Tigers added four runs in the top of the second. Jose Santos singled to open the inning and advanced to second on a throwing error after a sacrifice bunt.  Nick Jewett followed with a single to score Santos to make it 3-0. After a foul out, Connor Moore tripled down the right field line knockgin in Austin Singer and Jewett.  Colin Serkowski's sacrifice fly scored Moore for a 6-0 advantage.

UW-L cut the lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the second as Bryce Barsness scored on Joel Zyhowski's single up the middle.  Trinity (Texas) tallied five times in the top of the third to make it 11-1. Santos had a run-scoring single with Moore adding a two-run single and Brody Fehmel scored on a UW-L error.  Jeremy Wolf finished the scoring with an RBI single.

Justin Anderson scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the third to make it 11-2.

Butler's fielder's choice scored Moore in the top of the fifth for Trinity (Texas).  Anderson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning for UW-L and Ben Morgan later scored in the inning on a Tigers' error to make it 12-4. 

The Tigers added to the scoring in the seventh as Moore doubled home Fehmel and later scored on Butler's sacrifice fly.  Beau Attyah doubled to score Wolf in the ninth and later came in on a T.J. Garhart groundout.

UW-L finished the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth on a Michael Knutson pinch-hit two-run single.

Kenkel (3-2) took the loss, going 2.0 innings, allowing four hits, six runs (four earned) and one walk while striking out two.  The Eagles used five pitchers in the game.

Anderson finished 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI while Morgan and Shane Adler each went 2-for-4 with Morgan scoring one run.

Trent Rape (7-2) earned the victory for Trinity (Texas), pitching 6.2 innings, allowing nine hits, four runs (one earned) and two walks with five strikeouts.

The Tigers finished with 19 hits, including five players with multiple-hits.  Moore went 4-for-6 with four runs and five RBI while Wolf finished 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.  Butler went 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBI.