RV Trojans Sweep SAU with Back-to-Back Walk-Off Winners

RV Trojans Sweep SAU with Back-to-Back Walk-Off Winners

UPLAND, Ind. – The RV Taylor baseball team was back in action on Thursday evening, when the Trojans won back-to-back games in walk-off fashion.

Sophomore lefthander, Kaleb Kolpien, stole the moment in game one when he smacked a line drive up the middle to score Camden Knepp, ending the game in an 11-10 TU victory. In game two, freshman righty, Brayden Manning, ended the doubleheader in dramatic fashion with a line drive up the middle of his own, plating Kolpien to take game two by a final score of 6-5.

Kolpien and Manning combined for a 4-9 performance at the plate throughout the day, while the former scored three runs and the latter drove home five RBI. Even so, it was senior catcher, Ben Kalbaugh, who posted the most impressive performance at the dish.

By day’s end, Kalbaugh posted a 6-7 combined effort at the plate with a monster eight RBI and two runs scored.

Kalbaugh was pivotal for the Trojans in game one, especially considering the Cougars ripped off a 7-0 lead by the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth, however, Kalbaugh notched his second hit of the day and his first RBI with a two-out, two-run single to centerfield to make it a 7-3 ballgame.

TU’s Florida native returned to the plate in the seventh, now down 10-3, and singled through the right side of the infield to plate Brennan Frickel for his first collegiate run scored. Manning then upped the ante with a three-run home run, way over the outfield fence in left.

Down 10-7 heading into the eighth inning, Kalbaugh would soon be back for more. After Kolpien walked and Mason David reached on a Cougar error, it was Kalbaugh’s turn to clear the bases with a home run, tying the game at 10 as the game moved into the ninth inning.

At this point in the game, Trojan reliever, Jack Ross (4-0), took control of the rock and sat the Cougars down one-two-three while recording a pair of strikeouts.

Kolpien’s moment was soon to come, gifting Ross with his league-leading fourth win of the season. Knepp and TJ Bass set the table with singles of their own, after which Kolpien made it three in a row with his walk-off winner.

Kalbaugh finished game one with a 4-5 performance at the plate, driving in a career-best six runs while scoring one of his own. The Trojan catcher then ditched his gear for most of game two, embodying the DH role in the lineup en route to a 2-2 effort at the plate with two more RBI in the night cap.

Spring Arbor got on top of the Trojans again in game two, however, capitalizing on a two-out error in the first inning which carved space for a two-run home run before inning’s end. TU eventually responded with three runs in the fourth, giving Trojan starter, Alec Holcomb, a brief lead.

Kalbaugh and Mannning each played a significant role again for the Trojan lineup, smacking back-to-back doubles after David started the inning with an infield single. Centerfielder, Luke Picchiotti, then drove Manning home with an RBI single to give Taylor a 3-2 lead.

The Cougars clawed back with two runs in the top of the fifth, however, exercising small ball alongside a pair of passed balls to snatch back the one-run lead. For the third half-inning in a row, though, the lead then flipped back in TU’s favor in the bottom of the fifth.

Now up 5-4, Holcomb’s day was done, finishing with five innings of work and just one earned run allowed, racking up five strikeouts along the way. Kolpien then moved to the mound, traversing one-and-one-third innings of work until the Cougars placed the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the top of the seventh.

Freshman lefty, Nick Crabtree, then entered the game for TU and ended the frame while allowing just one of his inherited runners to score. The score read five apiece heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, priming the Trojans for their second walk-off winner of the day.

Kolpien got the party started with a sharp single over the shortstop’s head, after which Kade Vander Molen offered a graceful sacrifice bunt to move the winning run into scoring position. With two outs and Kolpien still on second, Kalbaugh entered the box for what appeared to be a cinematic setting for an end to his career day.

Instead, the Cougars wisely put him on first base with an intentional walk, bringing the freshman Manning up to bat. Spring Arbor fared no better with Manning, as the freshman sensation ripped a single up the middle of the infield to bring Kolpien home to score.

Crabtree (1-1) earned his first collegiate win thanks to Manning’s walk-off winner, which improved the Trojans to a perfect 6-0 in Crossroads League play.

RV Taylor (13-7, 6-0 CL) and Spring Arbor (5-6, 0-6 CL) are slated to return to the diamond at Winterholter Field on Saturday, March 11, for another doubleheader scheduled to commence at 1:00 pm.