Smooth Defensive Operation Seals Trip to CLT Championship Monday
MARION, Ind. – The top-seeded Taylor baseball team (44-9) survived a tough day at the plate by making enough good pitches and executing several game-altering defensive plays to defeat second-seeded Saint Francis (30-24) by a score of 6-4 on Saturday night in a Crossroads League Tournament elimination game.
The Trojans were playing their second CLT game of the day after they were shut out for just the second time all season in a 5-0 loss to fourth-seeded Indiana Wesleyan (29-18) earlier Saturday.
With the victory in the nightcap over USF, which tied the program’s best single-season mark at 44 wins, TU has set itself up for a rematch versus IWU on Monday, May 5, when the Purple and Grey must defeat the Wildcats twice to earn back-to-back CLT Championships.
In Saturday night’s contest against the Cougars, the Trojans trailed 2-0 early as they had been held scoreless for 11 straight frames to start the day.
In the top of the third, Saint Francis threatened to add to its 2-0 lead but were denied due to starting pitcher Lane Lewis picking off his second runner in as many innings and Ben Kennedy turning an inning-ending double play.
Taylor got on the board in the home half of the frame when Mason David singled and aggressively circled the bases on a pair of wild pitches.
The TU offense broke through in the fourth, beginning with a Luke Sutter double and a Luke Picchiotti walk. Kennedy then moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt, and Rylee Singleton delivered a clutch pinch-hit, two-out, two-run single to the right-center field gap to hand the Trojans a 3-2 advantage.
Lewis worked through 4.1 innings with two earned runs allowed, yet the Cougars regained a 4-3 lead by tacking on a run apiece in the fifth and sixth frames.
Still behind by a run, Ryan Sommer led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and Nate Simpson slapped a key double to left field. Kaleb Kolpien was intentionally walked to load the bases, but the USF strategy backfired when an RBI fielder’s choice from Brayden Manning followed a wild pitch to give the Trojans a 5-4 lead.
Picchiotti cushioned the lead with a sacrifice fly later in the seventh to put TU up, 6-4.
After pitching a scoreless top of the seventh, eventual winning pitcher Dalton Swinehart (4-1) was relieved by Nathan Frady in the eighth frame with two Cougars aboard and nobody out.
With Frady facing his first batter, Kennedy made the play of the game as he slid to save a batted ball from going into centerfield, popped to his feet, raced towards second base and fired a strike to the first baseman Manning for the twin killing.
Frady and the Trojans escaped the inning unscathed, and the sophomore righty closed out the game in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts for his third save of the season.
In Saturday’s 2:30 game against Indiana Wesleyan, Kolpien ripped three base hits while the rest of the batting order struggled.
Jake Boyer, who started versus IWU, recovered from a tough opening frame to get through four innings with five strikeouts and just the three first-inning runs surrendered.
Gage Gongwer provided TU with some much-needed length, finishing off the final five frames while also striking out five.
No. 9 Taylor plays Monday against host-Indiana Wesleyan with first pitch lined up for 3 p.m. TU must win that contest to force a final CLT Championship game Monday night versus the Wildcats.
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