![Pitching Paves the Way Toward Series Win over Marian](/images/2022-23/Baseball/Swinehart_Marian.jpg)
Pitching Paves the Way Toward Series Win over Marian
UPLAND, Ind. – The No. 21 Taylor baseball team won its seventh Crossroads-League series of the 2023 campaign on Saturday, when the Trojans swept Marian (16-26, 10-20 CL) in a two-game set to win the series three-games-to-one. After the Knights plated 16 runs in game one on Thursday, the TU pitching staff stifled the Marian lineup on Saturday, allowing just three runs to score throughout the day.
Taylor starter, Dalton Swinehart (3-0), led the charge in game one, which the Trojans won by a final score of 6-2. Swinehart completed six innings while racking up a season-best nine strikeouts and scattering four hits. The one blemish came in the fifth inning when the Knights' eight and nine batters hit back-to-back extra-base hits, including a two-run home run down the right-field line to cut the TU lead in half.
By that point, a four-run lead was established by the Trojan lineup in the bottom of the third, thanks in large part to TJ Bass's first of two home runs on the day. After Camden Knepp scored freshman shortstop, Ben Kennedy, on a double that burned the Marian left fielder, Kaleb Kolpien drew a walk to place two Trojans on base for Bass.
The 2022 NAIA First-Team All-American then promptly made it a 4-0 game with his 57th-career home run.
TU added two insurance runs in the seventh inning, one of which came on a sacrifice-fly struck by Kolpien, who added two more hits to his nation-leading total of 80 for the season.
Swinehart's day came to an end after six innings, setting the stage for Gabel Pentecost and Jack Ross to close the door on the Marian lineup, as Taylor won 6-2 while Ross secured his seventh save of the season.
Bass went on to power the Trojans to victory in game two as well, smacking two doubles alongside his second home run of the day, all of which added to three runs-batted-in. His middle-of-the-lineup counterpart, Kade Vander Molen, added two doubles of his own to drive in a pair of runs in game two.
While Bass and Vander Molen did their thing from the batter's box, freshman Wes Hunt (1-1) was electric on the mound. Typically a bullpen pitcher for the Trojans, Hunt made his third start of the season, scattering five hits and one walk throughout five innings en route to his first collegiate win.
Jared Crandall then took over for Hunt with two on and nobody out in the sixth, recording five outs before Nick Crabtree retired the final batter of the game via the strikeout.
After Saturday's sweep, Taylor increased its lead in the Crossroads League to three games over Indiana Wesleyan (29-16-1, 24-8 CL), now just one win away from securing its first regular-season conference championship since 2016.
No. 21 Taylor (34-12, 27-5 CL) will look to earn its crown on Thursday, April 27, when the Trojans travel to Goshen (9-33, 5-25 CL) to begin a four-game set at 1:00 pm.