Defensive Miscues Haunt Trojans in Losses to HU
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UPLAND, Ind. – One day after allowing eight unearned runs in a series-opening setback to No. 24 Huntington, the defense continued to betray Taylor with eight more errors that led to seven unearned runs for the Foresters in a doubleheader sweep of TU on Saturday.
Taylor allowed only two earned runs in Saturday’s twinbill, but lost 5-3 and 4-1 due to the poor defensive play that squandered a pair of strong starts on the bump from Matt Patton and Luke Hunter.
Patton held No. 24 Huntington (27-8, 20-3 CL) without an earned run in his 5.2 innings of work during game one, but departed with the game locked at 2-2. Patton surrendered five hits and fanned five, while using 76 pitches to collect 17 outs.
Hunter was equally as impressive in his game-two start, needing only 67 pitches to complete five innings and striking out five. Hunter yielded three hits and did not walk a batter or allow an earned run, but left the game facing a 3-0 deficit in the eventual 4-1 loss.
The Trojans committed five errors in the opener and gave HU unearned runs in each of the first two frames to fall into an early 2-0 deficit. A two-out knock by Christian McGill in the second drew TU even at 2-2 but two more errors led to a seventh-inning score for the Foresters.
TU once again battled back, getting back-to-back doubles with two outs in the bottom of the seventh from Jared Adkins and Tanner Watson to draw even at 3-3 and force extra innings, but Taylor’s fifth error of the game led to a third unearned run in the eighth and Taylor fell by the 5-3 margin.
It was more of the same in the second contest, as all four of Huntington’s runs were unearned and HU finished off the three-game sweep with a 4-1 decision.
The Taylor bats also struggled in the weekend series against the HU pitching, managing only two extra-base hits and four runs total during Saturday’s action. Watson and Adkins collected both extra-base knocks in consecutive at bats during the seventh-inning rally of the opener.
Watson ended four-of-eight at the plate on the afternoon, while Andrew Kennedy went three-of-seven, as the duo combined for seven of TU’s 11 hits in the doubleheader.
Taylor (29-18, 17-7 CL) will play two games at Lourdes (8-31, 4-23 WHAC) on Wednesday at 2:00 pm, before closing out the regular season with Grace (15-26, 7-17 CL) on Friday at 5:00 pm and Saturday at 2:00 pm.