Pitching Paves Way to Sweep Over Bethel
MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The No. 13 Taylor baseball team (28-5, 19-1 CL) was undeterred by a rain delay ahead of Saturday’s doubleheader at Bethel (10-18, 5-15), as the Trojans finished out their fourth Crossroads League four-game series sweep of the season with victories of 8-2 and 12-1.
While the TU offense remained productive and Brayden Manning showcased his power with a pair of home runs, the hurlers for the Purple and Grey dominated the Pilots’ lineup throughout the day. Across 16 innings pitched Saturday, Taylor utilized five different arms who ceded just one total earned run, a harmless solo homer in the middle of the Trojans’ game two rout.
Wes Hunt worked four scoreless innings to get the day started, which proved important as TU could not get on the board until the fifth frame.
Back-to-back extra-base hits, a triple and double from Ben Kennedy and Chase Long, respectively, started the fifth inning, and a second run was brought in on Kaleb Kolpien’s sacrifice fly following a single from Mason David. Then, Manning went yard for his third homer of the season to make it 4-0 in favor of the Trojans.
A walk and hit-by-pitch helped Taylor extend its lead to five in the seventh inning, but a miscue in the field led to a pair of runs for the Pilots, trailing 5-2.
Conner Miller entered the eighth inning tasked with preserving that three-run advantage, and after putting up a zero, his job was made easier by the TU bats.
The Trojans tacked on three ninth-inning insurance runs, aided by quality plate appearances from Kennedy, Drew Loy and David that set the table for Kolpien’s two-RBI single.
Miller closed the game to collect the two-inning save, his first of the season. Dalton Swinehart bridged the gap between Hunt and Miller, going three innings and picking up five strikeouts.
At the plate, David reached base in all five of his plate appearances and led TU with three hits.
The series finale opened with Miller (6-0), making his staff-high 16th appearance but first start of the season. The senior continued where he left off in Saturday’s opener, pitching three efficient innings and racking up three strikeouts while silencing the Pilots’ lineup.
Run support was Miller’s friend, with Taylor striking for two runs each in the opening three frames to take a 6-0 lead. Kolpien homered in the first inning, David drove in two with a base knock in the second and Kennedy tallied a run-scoring hit in the third to headline the scoring.
After a scoreless fourth inning with Nathan Frady on the mound, TU got back to work in the top of the fifth, again scoring in each of the last three innings to run away with the series sweep.
Fletcher Roemmich came through with a two-run single in the fifth, while Manning answered the Pilots’ solo homer in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run shot in the sixth to pull the Trojans ahead, 11-1. The homer marked the 23rd of Manning’s career.
Taylor’s final run came across on a pinch-hit double from Tyler Allemeier that scored Brady Gerig, giving Allemeier his first collegiate RBI.
Gage Gongwer pitched the final half-inning of the series, striking out the side after the first Pilot batter reached base. Frady tossed three innings of one-run ball in the finale, notching four strikeouts.
David, Kolpien and Kennedy led the Trojans at the plate with two hits apiece in the nightcap.
No. 13 Taylor plays a nonconference home game Tuesday versus Manchester at 6 p.m. before heading back on the road to face Goshen (4-21, 3-14 CL) beginning Friday, April 4.