Baseball Sweeps Crossroads League Weekly Accolades
JACKSON, Mich. – Following No. 19 Taylor's doubleheader sweep over Madonna on Saturday, Feb. 22, the Crossroads League named Dalton Swinehart and Sam Gladd its Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, for performances spanning Feb. 17-23.
Both Swinehart and Gladd made major impacts in the 8-0 nightcap win Saturday, with Swinehart tossing the final two innings of a combined seven-inning shutout and Gladd driving in three runs.
Swinehart's relief appearance saw the senior strike out four Crusaders while surrendering just one hit and a walk. The Elkhart, Indiana, native lowered his ERA to 0.96 through 9.1 innings on the season, during which he's also collected two saves and 10 strikeouts.
His first career Crossroads League Pitcher of the Week Award represented the dominance of TU's entire pitching staff on Saturday, as Jake Boyer, Gage Gongwer, Nathan Frady and Gabel Pentecost each also had scoreless outings across the doubleheader. Combined, Taylor's arms allowed just two earned runs in 16.0 innings of work versus Madonna.
In the batter's box, Gladd drove in four of the Trojans' 23 runs in the doubleheader on two sacrifice flies, a double and a homer. The first baseman went 2-for-2 in the 8-0 victory, with both hits going for extra bases. With the performance, Gladd upped his team-leading extra-base hits total in 2025 to seven, which includes a Crossroads League-best four home runs.
Between the twin-bill, Gladd produced a .500 batting average and scored two runs himself en route to picking up the second CL weekly honor of his career.
No. 19 Taylor (9-4) begins league play in Kokomo, Indiana, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, versus Grace (3-4). The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 12 noon at Championship Park before the series shifts to Upland for a doubleheader Friday.