No. 22 Taylor Picks Up First League Victory, Splits Doubleheader
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UPLAND, Ind. – The TU lineup came alive in the second game to split Monday’s doubleheader with Huntington. Game one was a low scoring affair with the Foresters taking the 2-0 victory but TU bounced back with a 5-1 win in game two of the afternoon.
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Pitching dominated the first game, as neither team surpassed five hits. Huntington’s (6-6, 2-1 CL) starting pitcher logged a complete game, while nabbing a shutout against the Trojans.
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The Taylor (17-6, 1-2 CL) bats struggled with runners in scoring position to open the day. TU threatened with a baserunner on second in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings but came up empty. In game one the team went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
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Luke Shively started on the mound for the Trojans, going 5.2 innings with four strikeouts. The sophomore righty got it going in the second inning, allowing no walks or hits for four-straight innings. Noah Huseman finished the game, retiring all four batters that he faced.
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TU struck first in the second game, as Ben Kalbaugh smacked his first career homerun. The two-run homer opened the scoring at 2-0 in favor of the Trojans.
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After each team plated a run in the fifth, the Purple and Gold put together rally to extend their lead in the sixth frame. Nick Rusche knocked in the first run with sleek single in the gap between first and second base. A walk from TJ Bass loaded the bases for a wild pitch to send home Josh Lane for the team’s fifth run of the contest.
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Solid pitching continued in game two with Justin Pettit pitching the initial five innings with zero earned runs to gather the win. The relief cast kept it going with eight strikeouts in the final four innings.
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Huntington opened the seventh with a pair of doubles but Clay Riggins found his way out of a jam with three-consecutive strikeouts to post a zero in the frame.
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As a group, the TU pitching staff boasted a 1.13 earned-run average and 1.19 WHIP between both games.
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The 22nd-ranked Trojans will return to action on Tuesday with a single game against Manchester (1-7) at Winterholter Field at 5:00 pm.
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