No. 21 TU Erases Deficits in Both Games to Sweep Lancers

UPLAND, Ind. – The 21st ranked Taylor baseball team earned two victories in a pair of back-and-forth contests on Saturday to sweep Grace (7-15, 1-9 CL) and extend its winning streak to six games. TU prevailed in a 390-pitch, 18-15 slug fest in game one before steady pitching performances from Matt Dutkowski and David Platt led to a 5-4 victory in game two of the home doubleheader.

The Trojans' series sweep marked their first of the season over a Crossroads League opponent and vaulted them into a tie for first in the CL standings with RV Indiana Wesleyan.

With the wind blowing out hard throughout the day, the scoring in Saturday's first game fittingly started with a home run to left field by GC in the second inning that was answered by Sam Gladd's deep solo homer to right in the bottom of the frame.

TU (17-9, 10-2 CL) added to its lead with a three-run double off the bat of Mason David and a run-scoring single from Gladd in the third inning to make it 5-1, Trojans.

Grace hit a grand slam as part of a seven-run fourth frame that saw the visitors take an 8-5 advantage. Once again, Taylor responded with a two-run shot of its own off the bat of Kaleb Kolpien in the bottom half of the inning to bring TU within one.

Reliever Gage Gongwer (2-0) put zeros on the board in the fifth and sixth frames, and he was rewarded with the win after Taylor struck for five runs in the sixth and six more in the seventh.

Brayden Manning hit a home run and a run-scoring double in those innings, while David launched a homer of his own and Ben Kennedy, Gladd, Brennan Frickel and Jacob Caruso all came through with run-producing base knocks that made it an 18-10 ballgame through seven innings.

The Lancers added another grand slam in the eighth frame, but Wes Hunt and Dalton Swinehart were able to get the necessary outs to secure the 18-15 win.

Despite the combined 33-hit, 33-run affair in game one, TU's infielders consisting of Frickel, Kennedy and David all made highlight-worthy plays to end the first, third and eighth innings, respectively. The offensive heroes of the first game were Manning and David with four runs batted in apiece, while Manning, Gladd and Frickel all notched three hits. 

Game two saw the teams match scores through three innings with the Lancers scoring twice in the second inning before adding another in the third only to have the Trojans produce the same run totals in those respective innings.

Kennedy's two-run single and David's home run to center field drove in TU's first three runs. TU then took the lead with Kolpien's RBI single in the fourth frame.

The Lancers answered with an unearned run in the fifth to make it 4-4, which resulted in a no-decision for Dutkowski. The senior, however, had a solid line of five innings allowing just five hits and three earned runs as he struck out three.

In a case of déjà vu, Taylor retook the lead at 5-4  in the sixth inning on another single to center from Kolpien that scored Camden Knepp with the aid of a fielding error.

Platt (1-0) featured a nasty slider in a pair of shutdown innings in which he picked up four strikeouts and closed the series sweep. Platt's win is the senior transfer's first in a TU uniform.

Four Trojans – Knepp, Kolpien, Frickel and Kennedy – had multiple hits in game two as TU outhit Grace 11-5 in the nightcap. Both Kolpien and Frickel reached base seven times between the doubleheader to pace Taylor's lineup.

The Trojans remain at Winterholter Field on March 22 and 23 for a series versus Mount Vernon Nazarene (12-8, 8-2). First pitch on Friday, March 22 is scheduled for 2 p.m.