TU Advances with 1-0 Win Over Spring Arbor in 10-Inning Affair
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Taylor softball team more than doubled Spring Arbor’s hit total, 12-5, on Thursday but needed 10 innings to notch its first and only run of the game, which was enough to secure the 1-0 win over SAU and remain in contention in the Crossroads League Tournament.
Courtney Moriarty’s one-out double in the top of the 10th gave Taylor a runner in scoring position, and TU senior Davis Carter recorded a two-out base knock to score Moriarty from second for the game’s only score.
The Purple and Gold had previously put themselves in position to take the lead in both the seventh and ninth innings, but the Trojans could not cash in on those opportunities.
In the seventh, Carter doubled to lead off the frame, and Kanai walked to give TU runners at first and second with nobody out. Erin Cozad successfully moved Kanai and Carter to second and third on a sacrifice bunt, but back-to-back groundouts halted Taylor’s rally.
The Trojans loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth for another chance at putting the go-ahead run on the board, but a pop out ended that threat, before TU pushed across the only run of the contest in the 10th stanza.
Spring Arbor (24-27), the No. 5 seed in the tournament, threatened to break the scoreless tie three times, as the Cougars had a runner on third base with one out in the bottom of the first and fifth innings, but TU recorded two-straight outs each time to end SAU’s scoring chances. With the loss, Spring Arbor was eliminated from the tournament.
Carter continued her stellar play to pace the Trojan lineup, collecting three hits in five at-bats, including a double and the go-ahead RBI single. Freshman Faith Rebber notched her first-career multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 at the plate, while Kanai and Moriarty each tallied two hits and Moriarty scoring the only run of the game.
Moriarty and Kanai combined to pitch a five-hit shutout, with Kanai (14-5) fanning eight hitters with no walks over the final six innings to earn the win in the circle. Moriarty started and went four innings, striking out four and surrendering just two hits.
Third-seeded Taylor (31-14) will now face No. 6 seed Huntington (24-25) for a second time in the Crossroads League Tournament on Friday at 12:00 pm at Marian University, with the losing team being eliminated from the tournament. TU defeated the Foresters, 7-2, in the two squads’ opening game of the tournament on Wednesday.