No. 19 TU Dismantles Eagles, Drops Top-20 Clash on Wild Saturday

GLENDALE, Ariz. – No. 19 Taylor (2-1) split its two games Saturday to conclude the Coach Calderone Invitational, dismantling Embry-Riddle 20-3 in seven innings before dropping a pitcher's duel to No. 10 Arizona Christian, 3-2.

The late afternoon and evening affairs saw the Trojans notch several impressive feats. At the plate, those accomplishments included a 19-run inning with 11 walks and a grand slam. On the mound, they included 19 straight batters sent down and an immaculate inning, both of which occurred versus the Firestorm lineup of ACU.

Beginning with TU's 20-3 victory over Embry-Riddle (1-2), junior transfer Brody Fine got the start and showcased elite command of his breaking ball as he worked through three innings, striking out five. Fine conceded three hits, a walk and just one run, which was plenty good enough for his Trojan debut thanks to the Taylor bats.

The Trojans loaded the bases but failed to score in each of the first two innings, but they gave themselves another bases-loaded opportunity in the third frame. This time, Brennan Frickel paid off the activity with a triple, and the big swing started an offensive avalanche.

TU poured it on versus the Eagles in a 46-minute top of the third, drawing 11 walks (one shy of the single-inning NAIA record), batting around two and-a-half times and breaking the scoreboard's functionality in a 19-run outburst. Luke Picchiotti capped the mayhem with a grand slam, though Ben Kennedy, Mason David, Kaleb Kolpien and Ryan Sommer also had run-scoring hits in an inning that had five pitching changes.

Taylor scored once more on a hit-by-pitch to freshman Brady Gerig in the fifth frame, and the Eagles answered with a pair in the bottom of that inning to make a harmless dent in the final score, 20-3.

Conner Miller (1-0) got the win as he pitched a scoreless fourth inning, while David Platt pitched two perfect innings and picked up two strikeouts in his season debut.

In the Trojans' second game, No. 10 Arizona Christian (3-0) jumped ahead 3-0 just three batters in. A mound meeting was then called, and starting pitcher Nick Crabtree responded by sending down 12 straight hitters, including seven on strikes, to finish his four-inning outing.

Right-handed reliever Jake Boyer toed the rubber beginning in the fifth inning for his first appearance of 2025, and the junior pulled off an immaculate inning (nine pitches, nine strikes, three strikeouts) that fired up the Taylor dugout.

Boyer continued his dominance by also retiring the next four hitters he faced, as he closed his four-inning relief appearance with an eye-popping nine strikeouts against one hit and a walk.

The excellent pitching for Taylor gave the lineup – which outhit the Firestorm's lineup 8-3 – a chance to come back, but the Trojans could not get the all-important hit with runners on, scoring only on solo homers from Frickel and Sam Gladd.

19th-ranked Taylor stays out west to play the Nelson (formerly SAGU) Warriors (0-2) in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Tuesday at 5 p.m. EST.