TU Baseball Lands 1,400th All-Time Win with Friday Victory
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AVE MARIA, Fla. – Two runs in the eighth inning gave the Trojans (3-1) a 4-3 advantage, which withstood the final stretch. The narrow win on Friday against Ave Maria (0-1) marked the 1,400th victory in program history.
Down by one entering the eighth inning, Nick Rusche and TJ Bass were both hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, which scored the game-deciding runs in the contest.
Freshman Rusche finished with a double and two RBIs with Bass and Josh Lane driving in the other two Taylor runs. Wyatt Whitman and Nathan Targgart led the Taylor bats on Friday, as they each smacked two hits in the middle of the lineup.
TU pitching was dominant on Friday, allowing just two hits over the first five innings of action. Luke Shively received his first start of the season, picking up four strikeouts through just over three frames of work. Logging one inning on Friday, Andrew Kennedy (1-0) snagged the win, posting a zero in the seventh.
As a group, Taylor pitchers had Ave Maria on its heels, fanning 12 batters on the day. Kole Barkhaus closed out the game with three strikeouts over the final two innings, nabbing the save.
Taylor (3-1) will return to action on Saturday, facing Ave Maria (0-1) in a doubleheader with the first game beginning at 11:00 am.