Carter’s Two-Run Blast Lifts Taylor Past No. 4 Marian
UPLAND, Ind. – Led by a two-run home run from Davis Carter and a four-hit shutout in the circle by Hannah Robbins, the Taylor University softball team downed No. 4 Marian, 2-0, on Friday night at Gudakunst Field.
The win over the fourth-ranked Knights is the highest-ranked win in program history, topping Taylor’s 7-6 win over then-No. 12 Campbellsville back on February 24.
With the score knotted at 0-0 in the second inning, Hannah Castor singled up the middle to begin the home-half of the stanza. Carter followed with her eighth dinger of the season, giving TU a 2-0 cushion after two innings.
MU (35-3, 26-2 CL) threatened with runners on first and second with two outs in the fourth inning, but a hard-hit grounder by Sam Pash towards the hole at second base caught the heel of the baserunner, Riley Cripe, for the third out of the inning.
Marian was once again primed to make a comeback in the fifth inning, as the Knights put runners on first and third with one out, but TU converted a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning unscathed.
The visitors brought the go-ahead run to the plate for a third-straight inning in the sixth frame, as MU had runners at first and second with two outs, but a back-handed stop and flip by Anna Gunderson to Cassie Kuizin, who barehanded it at second base to end the inning.
Robbins (13-3) slammed the door shut on the Knights’ comeback chances for good with a 1-2-3 seventh inning to secure the 2-0 victory for the Trojans in the nightcap.
In game one of the doubleheader, the Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play, before TU responded in the fourth frame with three runs of its own. Castor singled with two outs in the inning, setting up Carter, who deposited the 3-2 pitch over the left-field fence for her first two-run homer of the day. Courtney Moriarty hammered the very next pitch over the left-field fence to tie the score at three runs apiece.
The 3-3 score held until the top of the sixth, when MU took advantage of a Trojan error to plate three runs and take a 6-3 lead, which it would not relinquish.
Taylor (29-14, 21-7 CL) will travel to Fort Wayne on Saturday to play two games against Saint Francis (15-19, 12-16 CL) at 1:00 pm.