Taylor Stumbles Against IWU in Crossroads League Tournament

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 2 seed Taylor softball team fell to No. 3 seed Indiana Wesleyan, 9-5, on Wednesday afternoon in the Crossroads League Tournament loser's bracket final, eliminating the Trojans from the tournament.

IWU (41-12) jumped on top early, taking a 3-0 lead in the opening half-inning on a three-run double by Victoria Boyer.

The Trojans responded immediately in the bottom of the first, as Alex Lovelace and Anna Gunderson led off with back-to-back doubles for a quick first run. Gunderson came around to score a few batters later on an error to make it a 3-2 ballgame after one inning of play.

After a scoreless second inning, the Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the top of the third to extend their lead to 5-2. Taylor got runners on first and second in both the second and third innings, but was unable to produce runs in either frame.

IWU's Kristen Exposito hit a grand slam with two outs in the fourth inning to provide the Wildcats with a 9-2 advantage.

TU got three-straight singles with one out in the bottom of the fourth to load the bases and scored a run on Hannah Castor's groundout. Davis Carter followed with a two-run base knock to cut the deficit to 9-5.

The Trojans went down 1-2-3 in the fifth and seventh stanzas, while a lead-off double by Lovelace in the bottom of the sixth was followed by three consecutive outs to stifle the potential rally, allowing Indiana Wesleyan to take the 9-5 win.

Lovelace led the way from the dish, going a perfect 4-4 with two doubles and coming around to score twice. Gunderson went 3-4 and also scored twice, while Carter added two hits and three RBI to the TU cause.

RV Taylor (38-16) will now await the NAIA National Tournament selection show on Wednesday at 7:00 pm to see if the Trojans earn an at-large bid to the national tournament.