Taylor Falls to Hope International in First Round of NAIA Tournament
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MEDFORD, Ore. – Taylor opened its third trip to the national stage in the last six years with a 5-0 loss to No. 12 Hope International (45-12) on Monday afternoon.
Maddi Evans (3-3) started in the circle for the Trojans. Evans finished with four strikeouts in just as many innings of work for TU and only allowed two runs on three hits. Taylor Wilson finished the day with the Trojan’s lone hit, a single in the second inning. Erin Cozad and Evans reached on base via walk. The Trojans left three potential runs on base.
The Trojans held HIU scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when the Royals scored their first two runs of the game. Hope International tallied three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to win, 5-0.
Hope International was led by Taylor Pierce in the circle. Pierce (16-5) added another shutout win to her resume, making it the fourth time she has held the Royals’ opponent to zero runs.
With the loss, Taylor (35-16) will face Marymount California (34-13) in an elimination contest at 4:30 pm EST, following Tuesday’s early game between No. 4 Southern Oregon (46-7) and Hope International. The winner of Taylor’s game and the loser of the winner’s bracket game will face off at 7:00 pm EST.
