Trojans Prepare for Crossroads League Tournament
Trojans Prepare for Crossroads League Tournament
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor begins postseason play on Wednesday, May 4th in the eight-team, double-elimination Crossroads League Tournament.
No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan (46-8, 31-5 CL) received an automatic bid to the NAIA 2022 National Tournament after winning the CL regular season title. The winner of the tournament will receive the other automatic bid, unless Indiana Wesleyan wins the tournament, then, the team that loses in the championship game receives the bid.
Games will be held at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana on Wednesday, before the tournament shifts to Marian University on Thursday and Friday for the final two days of competition, including the championship game.
Taylor (22-25, 19-17 CL) opens the tournament as the fourth-seeded team, and will face off against fifth-seeded Saint Francis (25-23, 17-19 CL) at 12:00 pm. The Trojans split the season series with the Cougars, outscoring them 16-13 in the four contests. TU has taken 12 of the past 15 games against Saint Francis, dating back to 2018.
Depending on the outcome of the game with Saint Francis, Taylor will square off against either No. 8 and top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University (46-8, 31-5 CL) or eighth-seeded Spring Arbor (18-29, 12-24 CL) later Wednesday afternoon.
Taylor won three of the four contests against Spring Arbor this season, including a sweep at Gudakunst Field on April 5th. The Trojans have won 20 of the last 23 matchups against the Cougars.
Indiana Wesleyan took the victory in three of the four games against Taylor this year, while each contest was decided by three-or-fewer runs. Taylor took the first game of the series 7-5, benefitting from home runs by Lexi Abruzzo and Alexi Clay in the victory.
The Trojans have been led in the circle by the one-two punch of Maddi Evans and Mackenzie Noah. Evans collected 12 victories, while Noah compiled nine of her own. Evans pitched 140.1 innings throughout the campaign, which placed her second in the CL and also struck out 143 batters, which was good enough for third in the CL. Noah had a fantastic freshman year, leading the team in earned run average at 3.41, placing her tenth in the CL.
Offensively, Taylor was led by Ashton Whitman, who led the team in most categories, including batting average (.375), hits (57), doubles (12) and runs batted in (38). Evans helped her cause in the circle with six home runs and 11 doubles, while Emma West had a team-leading 39 runs scored and Caitlyn Grim contributed with eight doubles and 33 RBI.
The other half of the bracket will pit No. 17 Marian (38-9, 28-8 CL) against Huntington (15-32, 13-23 CL) and RV Mount Vernon Nazarene (36-12, 26-10) facing off with Goshen (24-26, 14-22 CL).
Tickets for Wednesday’s games at Grand Park will be $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, military and children.