No. 19 TU Escapes Friday Doubleheader with Split

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The No. 19 Taylor baseball team (6-4) built a lead and added to it before hanging on to win 8-6 in the second game of Friday's doubleheader at RV St. Thomas (10-4).

After dropping game one Friday by a 3-2 margin, Sam Gladd's fifth-inning two-run homer and a three-run eighth inning provided TU with just enough cushion to escape with a twin-bill split, guaranteeing Taylor will head back to Upland, Indiana, with a winning record.

Wes Hunt started the nightcap and pitched 3.2 innings as he struck out four batters and allowed just two hits and a run.

At the dish, Brayden Manning kicked off a four-hit game with an RBI single in the first frame.

Three innings later, Luke Sutter started a two-out rally with a walk that was followed by a single and bases on balls from Ben Kennedy and Ryan Sommer, respectively. Mason David then came through with a go-ahead, two-run single to give the Trojans a 3-1 edge.

Reliever Gage Gongwer was tasked with preserving that lead when he entered the game with two outs and two men on in the bottom of the fourth. Gongwer (1-0) picked up a crucial strikeout to start his outing that lasted 2.2 innings in which the junior collected four punch outs, allowed one earned run and was the pitcher of record.

Gladd launched his two-run homer that scored Manning in the top of the fifth to make it a 5-1 game. The first baseman's big swing was the 24th of his career, and it brought Gladd into a tie for seventh on the program's home run list during the Kyle Gould era.

Those runs proved important as the Bobcats worked their way back into the game at 5-3 through seven innings. Taylor's lead was in jeopardy when Conner Miller entered in the bottom of the seventh with two on and one out, but Miller continued his stellar start to the season by retiring the two men he faced on a strikeout and soft line drive to Kennedy.

TU took full advantage of an STU error and pitching woes in the eighth by pushing across another three runs. Despite not getting an RBI, Brady Gerig highlighted the inning with a perfectly placed one-out bunt single that loaded the bases.

Things got dicey in the final two frames as St. Thomas homered to bring the score to 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth, but Lane Lewis and Nathan Frady combined to pick up the last six outs.

In the scheduled seven-inning opener, Brody Fine continued his solid start to his Taylor career by working five innings, striking out eight and giving up just two runs in a no-decision.

Trailing 2-0 in the fifth inning, Luke Picchiotti hit his second home run of the season to bring the Trojans within one. Later in the frame, Kennedy plated Sutter on a sacrifice fly to make it a new ballgame, 2-2.

The Bobcats scored in the sixth, though, and closed the game on the mound in the top of the seventh frame for its 3-2 win.

Manning totaled five hits on the day, while Sutter had a team-high two hits in the opener and scored two runs across the doubleheader.

No. 19 Taylor has a chance to win the series against RV St. Thomas when it plays the finale on Saturday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.