Going into this year’s season-opener, Trinity Lutheran baseball coach Matt VonDielingen told his team that he didn’t care what the record was over the first 10 game.

He told them that all that mattered was how the team was playing by the tail end of the season, and that the best baseball needed to come at the start of the postseason.

That plan is working for the Cougars.

Defeating Southwestern 8-1 on Monday, Trinity extended its winning streak to seven games.

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“Having six freshman, I thought we could struggle early,” Trinity coach Matt VonDielingen said. “I’ve known these kids since they were six-years-old, and I knew that they would figure it out and get better as the season went on.”

The Cougars (14-7-1) scored two runs in the first inning and never looked back.

Reid Kruse and Jack Marksberry each got on base, with two outs, before Chandler Reynolds blasted a two-run single to give the Cougars the lead.

After giving up a run in the top of the second, on a throwing error, Trinity responded with a score in the bottom of the third. Again with two outs, in the third, Marksberry  and Reynolds had base hits. With a pair of runners on, Lawson Woods hit an RBI single to put the Cougars up 3-1.

In the fourth, with two runners on base, Kruise sacrificed to score Jake Mau and put the Cougars up 4-1.

The Cougars added some insurance in the fifth, adding four more runs.

Reynolds led off with a double before the next at-bat was walked. Trent Shoemaker then plated two with a single to get Trinity on top 7-1. Shoemaker then went on to score on an error at third base before Jake VonDielingen slid into home on another Spartans error.

Neither team scored again the rest of the way, as the Cougars held on for the win.

Both teams totaled eight hits in the game. Reynolds led the Cougars with three hits.

Coach VonDielingen said that Reynolds has hit the ball well over the past month.

Woods went the distance on the mound, pitting all seven innings while recording four strikeouts, eight hits, one walk and one run.

“Lawson pitched outstanding,” coach VonDielingen said. “There was no reason to ever go get him. He was never in any trouble. The offense had his back and gave him a cushion so he could attack hitters.”

Trinity will host Henryville tonight, play at Scottsburg on Wednesday and have Austin in town on Saturday for a doubleheader.

“Lately, things have been coming together,” coach VonDielingen said. “We have been playing better defense and had better pitching. We’ve had better approaches at the plate. These boys are gelling at the right time. We play some of the best competition of the season the remainder of the week. We will find out how far we’ve come over the next five days.”