Regular Season Comes to a Close at Goshen

GOSHEN, Ind. – The 2023 baseball regular season came to a close on Saturday afternoon, when the Crossroads League Regular-Season Champion, No. 21 Taylor (37-13, 30-6 CL), split with Goshen (10-38, 6-30 CL) to secure its eighth CL series win of the season.

The top third of the TU lineup catalyzed a Trojan victory in game one, 8-4, before a determined Goshen offense returned the favor in game two to upset the league's top team in walk-off fashion by a final score of 9-8.

Camden Knepp had a big day at the plate, totaling four hits and five runs scored while reaching base in eight of his nine plate appearances throughout the twin bill. He was especially electric in game one, going 3-3 at the dish in tandem with two hit-by-pitches and three runs scored.

Meanwhile, Kaleb Kolpien and TJ Bass each went 2-5 at the plate in game one behind Knepp in the leadoff spot. The Trojan trio combined to hit 7-13, scoring five runs and driving in two more.

On the mound, TU starter, Dalton Swinehart (4-0), earned his fourth win of the season while totaling a season-best 11 strikeouts in just five innings of work. Swinehart allowed just four hits, one walk, and one run throughout his solid start.

Jack Ross then took over in the sixth prior to completing three innings of scoreless relief, in which he totaled four strikeouts. Jared Crandall then came on in the ninth inning and recorded two more strikeouts, which culminated in TU's highest single-game strikeout-total this season at a mark of 17.

The Taylor pitching staff has averaged 10.26 strikeouts per nine innings throughout Crossroads League play, which ranks at the top of the league's leaderboard. Further, as a staff the Trojans have tallied 429 strikeouts overall in the 2023 campaign, boasting the ninth-highest mark in the entire NAIA.

Goshen presented a determined effort at the plate in game two, however, by recording 14 hits in the seven-inning affair. The Maple Leafs got off to an early 7-3 lead by the end of the third inning, a four-run lead that held until the top of the sixth inning.

Down 8-4 at this point in the game, the Trojan bats did what they have done all season by scratching a crooked number into the scorebook. Bass played a prominent role in TU's four-run effort with his league-leading 18th home run of the season, tying the game at eight apiece with a three-run blast down the left-field line.

Even so, Goshen would have the last word, recording three-straight singles with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Taylor in walk-off fashion.

No. 21 Taylor (37-13, 30-6 CL) will now fix its gaze on the 2023 Crossroads League Tournament as the tournament's top seed. Postseason play is set to unfold at Huntington, beginning on Wednesday, May 3.

Stay tuned to TaylorTrojans.com for more information as the Crossroads League Tournament unfolds.