Bass Homers in Loss to MVNU

Bass Homers in Loss to MVNU

UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor baseball squad fell behind early and could not fight its way back, falling by an 8-1 margin to Mount Vernon Nazarene. TJ Bass provided a bright spot in the fourth with his fifth long ball of the season.

After multiple rescheduling attempts, Taylor (32-16, 12-12 CL) and Mount Vernon Nazarene (33-15, 16-8 CL) finally battled in Upland on Tuesday. Since it was originally slated to be at Mount Vernon Nazarene, Taylor batted first as the visiting team, despite playing at Winterholter Field.

The top hitting team in the Crossroads League displayed its strength in the lineup, scoring eight runs on the day, while batting .379. A hot game at the plate is nothing unusual for the Cougars, as they rank 10th in the NAIA with a .331 team batting average on the year.

Trailing by four runs in the fourth inning, the freshman Bass led off with a solo shot to get the Trojans on the board. The leftfielder posted his fifth homer of the season and his fourth at Winterholter Field.

On the bump, Kole Barkhaus picked up his second career start, tossing three innings with two earned runs. In relief, Andrew Kennedy delivered five-consecutive outs, including three strikeouts. Brett Lawson logged the last innings for TU in his second appearance this season, ousting five Cougars, while allowing just one hit.

Josh Lane was the lone Trojan to offer a multi-hit effort, becoming the third player for TU to collect 10 doubles this season.

The Purple and Gold will return to action on Friday at Saint Francis (13-34, 7-17 CL) at 3:00 pm.