Luke Cassis and the 2011 Trinity Trojans

Former Mizzou player and Baseball Director of Operations Luke Cassis left the Tigers last summer to enroll in seminary at Trinity International University in Chicago. Upon arrival he took on the role of Graduate Assistant Coach for the Trinity baseball team.

Then the Head Coach of the Trojans stepped down from the position and Cassis was named the interim Head Coach in January.

TIU plays in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, part of the NAIA.

The Trojans finished the 2011 season with a 20-25 overall record, 12-15 in the CCAC, finishing in 3rd place in the southern division.

The highlight of the season for Cassis' team came in the CCAC conference tournament

In their first game they jumped out to a 6-1 lead against St. Francis, the top seed in the north division, only to finally lose, 10-9.

But then, "showing signs of whit and grit", they fought back through the losers' bracket to win three straight games, putting them in the Conference Championship game, again facing St. Francis, coming up just short in their bid for the championship:

With three consecutive wins, TIU was in the championship game against USF. Trinity was looking for revenge for the first game they let slip, but were also playing for it all and a trip to NAIA Nationals.

In the title game, Trinity jumped ahead 4-1 in the first three innings and just like in their first meeting on Tuesday, USF rallied from behind to catch and pass TIU.

The Saints came back from a 6-1 deficit to win 10-9 on Tuesday, TIU's only tournament loss until the title game and eventually rallied with three runs in the sixth and three more in the ninth to win again on Friday. (tiutrojans.com)

Here's a tip of the cap to the head coach who wouldn't let the underdogs quit.