Taylor Tops SAU Twice for Fifth-Straight Sweep
Â
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor took down Spring Arbor, 8-5 and 8-0, on Saturday at Gudakunst Field to push its win streak to 11-straight games for the longest stretch of successive victories during head coach Brad Bowser’s seven-year tenure with the program.
The streak appeared in jeopardy late into the first game, as Spring Arbor jumped to a 5-1 lead in the third frame and worked out of jams without damage in the fourth and fifth to take a 5-2 edge into the bottom half of the sixth.
The Taylor bats started cashing in on opportunities during the bottom of the sixth, when Justice Carmichael singled to left with one out and Taylor Wilson brought the Trojans within a single run by clearing the center field fence. Alex Lovelace then singled and scored the tying run on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Anna Gunderson to draw TU even at 5-5.
Hannah Castor delivered the biggest hit of the afternoon with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, depositing a three-run, walk-off blast into the parking lot beyond the left-center field fence to send Taylor to its 10th-straight victory via the 8-5 decision.
TU produced up and down the lineup, collecting 17 hits in the contest, with Lovelace, Gunderson and Carmichael all having three hits and Cassie Kuizin, Castor and Lauren Ehle also notching two hits each. Lovelace scored three times and Castor drove in four runs.
Maddie Cornell held SAU scoreless over the final four innings of the game to take the win and improve to 5-1 in the circle for the Purple and Gold. Cornell fanned two batters and scattered four hits, while needing only 57 pitches.
After scoring the final seven runs of the opener, Taylor added eight more unanswered tallies in the nightcap for a six-inning, 8-0, shutout victory.
Hannah Robbins (6-3) dominated the Spring Arbor (11-19, 6-8 CL) bats through five frames, allowing only one hit to secure the win. Dani Wyse followed Robbins with two strikeouts in a scoreless sixth inning.
Kuizin paced the TU lineup with three hits and three runs scored, while Castor and Courtney Moriarty each added two hits.
Taylor (19-10, 11-3 CL) will look to stay hot when it hosts Grace (14-13, 7-5 CL) on Tuesday in a 5:00 pm start.
