Softball Swept at Marian

INDIANAPOLIS - The Taylor softball dropped both games on the road this afternoon as the Crossroads League-leading Marian Knights collected a sweep of the Trojans with 6-5 and 5-2 victories at Marian Softball Field this afternoon.

Taylor (15-21, 7-9) fell behind early in game one as the Knights tacked three runs on the board in the bottom of the opening frame, stringing together four hits and taking advantage of a TU error in the first inning.

The Trojans answered in the second inning with three runs of their own as MacKenzie Hiers, Bethany Bates, and Holly Tomaszewski managed three straight hits and Emily Tweedy smashed an RBI double to pull TU even with the Knights at 3-3.

Marian (25-7, 14-2) added runs in the second and fourth innings to reclaim the lead at 5-3 before Taylor answered yet again, this time in the top of the sixth inning when Bates and Caitlin Vukorpa each registered base hits to set up Tweedy again. The junior catcher slapped a double into the right field gap that pushed two runs across and tied the game at 5-5.

After holding the Knights scoreless in the bottom of the sixth and failing to score in the top of the seventh inning, Taylor allowed a walk-off homerun from the Knights' Helen Rogers as the Knights claimed the dramatic game one victory.

Freshman Ashley Miller was charged with the loss in the circle for Taylor, allowing ten hits and four earned runs, while striking out two and walking two.

Marian again jumped out to an early lead in game two with five run first inning as the Trojans found themselves in an early hole.

Taylor managed one run in the second inning on Tomaszewski's RBI single but wouldn't score again until Tomaszewski hit a solo blast in the fifth inning to trim the Knights' lead to 5-2 but Taylor would draw no closer as the Knights' Amy Tamer scattered six hits in the complete game effort.

Hannah Klebsedal was charged with the loss in game two as the sophomore allowed eight hits and five earned runs while striking out six and walking six in six innings of work.

Taylor closes out the regular season on Saturday as the Trojans travel to Spring Arbor for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm before the Crossroads League tournament slated for next week.