Trojans Pick up Two More Wins at Bethel, Streak Now at Ten
MISHAWAKA, Ind. – Two more wins were earned in relatively straightforward fashion Friday afternoon for Taylor softball at Bethel, as the Trojans ran their winning streak to double digits at ten games with 7-2 and 8-4 victories over the Pilots.
Receiving votes Taylor has been red-hot of late in all facets of the game. During Taylor's fantastic ten game stretch, the Trojans have outscored opponents 76-17 overall to average 7.6 runs per game. Taylor has put its work in early, scoring 35 runs through the first three innings of play to just six for its opponents. The pitching staff holds an ERA of just 1.42 compared to a mark of 7.56 for opposing sides.
Two impressive individual streaks continued Friday as well, as Davis Carter and Alex Lovelace each pushed their respective hitting streak to ten games as key catalysts for the high-powered offense.
Senior pitcher Hannah Klebesadel reached a milestone Friday afternoon with her 50th career win from the circle in game one to improve to 12-1 on the year. Klebesadel allowed just two solo home runs in the contest in five innings pitched, holding the Pilots to two runs on four hits and two strikeouts. Her twelve wins place her at No. 5 in the Crossroads League for the season.
Hannah Robbins threw the final two innings and held Bethel scoreless. The sophomore has now thrown twelve consecutive scoreless innings and has posted a 4-0 record with an infinitesimal 0.54 ERA during Taylor's ten game unbeaten streak.
The Trojans were able to tag Bethel's senior starter Natalie Newell with two runs in the third inning and five in the fifth to open up a healthy 7-1 advantage. The three-time Crossroads League Pitcher of the Year Newell was able to total eight strikeouts in the complete game, but the Taylor bats did plenty of damage with seven runs on 13 hits.
Lauren Ehle got things started in the third inning with a two-run home run on a full-count pitch to put Taylor ahead 2-1, her seventh dinger of the season. Lovelace had previously reached base on a one-out single.
In the top of the fifth the Trojans batted through the order to plate five runs. Lovelace led off with a double and advanced to third on a successful sacrifice bunt from Anna Gunderson. After the recorded out, five consecutive batters reached base on four hits and a walk. Ehle had an RBI single to score Lovelace and came around to score from first following a double from Ashley Miller to right field. The score became 5-1 after Carter turned on a double to left field. Robbins proceeded to lace the third straight double to plate Carter. Morgan Allison reached on a walk, and after Jessica Britt was retired after a lengthy, quality at-bat, Erin Tice connected on the fifth Taylor double of the frame to bring Robbins around for the seventh run of the contest.
In game two Taylor scored three runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Carter. Bethel responded with a Newell solo home run in the bottom half off Taylor starter Maddie Cornell, but after the first both pitchers settled in to post zeros on the scoreboard in the second and third innings.
Tice doubled to lead off the fourth in what turned out to be another three-run inning for Taylor. Gunderson had an RBI single and two more runs came across as Carter reached on an error.
Katie Rhoade had a two-RBI double for the Pilots in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 6-3 Taylor.
Another RBI from Carter in the sixth and a Lovelace RBI single in the seventh pushed the advantage to 8-3, and Cornell kept the Pilots to just one run in the seventh to preserve the complete game win. It was the seventh win to just two losses from the circle for the sophomore, as she went the distance and conceded four runs, three earned, on seven hits, two walks and a career-high six strikeouts. Cornell also added her first career hit from the plate in the seventh with a single to left field.
Monday's doubleheader at Marian will be the final two games of the regular season for Taylor, with game one beginning at 1:00 pm. Marian clinched the Crossroads League regular season title Friday, surviving a test in game one against Goshen to sweep the Maple Leafs with 5-4 and 9-1 victories.
Taylor (32-12, 26-6 CL) can still finish tied with Marian atop the league standings if it were to win both games on Monday, April 27. The Knights however hold the tiebreaker to claim both the top spot for the upcoming league tournament, which it will now host, and an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The Trojans will aim to improve upon its winning streak Monday and stave off Indiana Wesleyan for the second seed in the league tournament. Taylor is currently two games ahead of the Wildcats and will need either one win over Marian or an Indiana Wesleyan loss against Grace to secure the No. 2 seed.