Watson Collects Four Hits to Lead TU Past Saint Francis
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Taylor used another fast start to score a 5-3 win at Saint Francis on Thursday, winning the series opener to extend its current win streak to six-straight games behind a four-hit day at the plate from Tanner Watson and a six-inning effort on the bump from Luke Hunter.
The Trojans wasted no time taking the lead, as Jared Adkins walked and stole second and third before jogging home on a single by Tanner Watson two batters into the contest. Watson knocked in Andrew Kennedy and Josh Lane with another single in the second for a 3-0 lead and a pair of USF errors allowed Taylor to push the spread to 5-0 in the third.
Hunter held the edge through six innings on the hill, improving to 4-2 by limiting Saint Francis to two runs and striking out seven. Rob Fox, Brett Lawson and Matt Patton protected the lead over the final three frames, with Fox working a scoreless seventh, Lawson recording two outs in the eighth and Patton pitching a flawless final 1.1 innings of work for his third save of the season.
Watson picked up four of TU’s seven hits in the contest and drove in three runs, while Kennedy scored twice and had one RBI. Adkins scored once and ended with two steals.
Taylor (25-14, 14-4 CL) and Saint Francis (11-32, 4-14 CL) will resume the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm in Fort Wayne.