Trojans Pick Up a Pair of Top-25 Wins in Arizona
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GLENDALE, Ariz. – The TU baseball squad continued its strong start to 2020 with victories over No. 19 Lewis-Clark State and No. 15 Westmont on Thursday afternoon. Taylor moved to 6-0 on the season, remaining perfect during its trip to Arizona.
Taylor and Lewis-Clark State (1-1) traded blows in the second inning, as each team collected four runs. An RBI triple from Jacob Morris opened the scoring for TU, before a two-run shot from Kade Vander Molen capped off the big inning. The Warriors quickly responded in the bottom of the frame, picking up four scores with only one counting as an earned run.
The offense stayed locked in for the Purple and Gold, plating a total of nine runs from the second through the fourth frame. An RBI single from Brett Lawson put the Trojans back in front in the third, before the team posted another four-run inning in the fourth. Morris provided the crucial hit in the big inning with two outs, smacking a double to plate a pair.
Luke Shively nabbed his second start of the year, going 4.2 innings with four strikeouts, while allowing just one earned run. Finishing the game for TU in a dominant fashion, Justin Pettit earned the win. The righty retired the first 11 batters that he faced, collecting six strikeouts.
Vander Molen added a two-RBI single in the ninth inning, giving Taylor an 11-4 advantage over Lewis-Clark State that would remain through the final out. The freshman touted a grand performance in game one, offering two hits, three walks and four RBI. Also notching a multi-hit effort, Morris recorded three base-hits for the first time in his young career.
After an hour break, TU returned to the field in a battle against another top-25 squad, the 15th-ranked Westmont Warriors. Noah Huseman drew the start for Taylor, delivering the first five innings from the hill. The junior fanned six hitters in the outing, including a strikeout for each out of the second frame.
The Taylor bats gave their support for Huseman’s win with four runs between the second and third frames. Christian McGill came through with a two-out RBI single to put the Trojans on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. In the third inning, the TU squad loaded the bases, before scoring three runners with a Morris knock and a Brian Fields double.
The Trojans continued to build on their lead, adding a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Fields and Conner Crawford each provided two hits and a double in the contest to lead the TU lineup.
Kole Barkhaus erased any hope of a comeback for Westmont, securing the final 11 outs on the mound. The junior righty did not allow a runner past second base through the last three innings on the way to his first save of the year.
TU will return to action against Southwest (3-3) on Friday at 11:00 am EST.