Trojans Hit Stumbling Block at USF, Series Finale Moved Up

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – A go-ahead two-run homer from Kaleb Kolpien in the top of the seventh inning of Thursday's series opener was spoiled by a late Saint Francis comeback, and No. 10 Taylor could not recover in the nightcap as it fell by scores of 5-4 and 10-6 on the afternoon.

Starting the second of two straight road series, TU (28-7, 19-3 CL) took a 1-0 lead in the third frame of game one on Mason David's ninth homer of the season.

The Trojans' ace, Gabel Pentecost, pitched six effective innings, striking out six Cougars and yielding two runs on four hits.

Those runs had Taylor trailing 2-1 heading into the sixth, though, as the visitors could not take advantage of six free passes given up through six frames by the Saint Francis starter. Sam Gladd took matters into his own hands in that sixth inning, crushing his league-leading 15th home run to bring about a 2-2 tie.

With two outs in the top of the seventh, Kolpien broke the tie on an 0-2 count with a two-out, two-run homer that put TU in front, 4-2.

The lead was squandered in the bottom of the frame when USF (18-16, 15-7) launched two homers to take a 5-4 advantage that would hold throughout the contest despite David and Kolpien reaching base with one out in the ninth.

Game two saw the Cougars carry momentum from the opener as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead en route to putting up 10 runs through four innings.

The Trojans fought back with Luke Sutter and Sam Gladd driving in runs in the third frame, and a pair of doubles in the fourth from Ben Kennedy and David made it a 7-3 game.

Luke Picchiotti notched a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, leaving the Trojans with one last gasp in the top of the seventh, trailing 10-4. Nate Simpson rocked a two-run homer, his first in a Taylor uniform, to make it 10-6, but it was too little, too late.

David collected three hits in the nightcap while Simpson went 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

Lane Lewis closed the doubleheader on the mound going 2.2 innings with three strikeouts.

No. 10 Taylor looks to avoid dropping its first Crossroads League series in 2025 when it begins Friday's doubleheader at Saint Francis at 10 a.m.