![Walk-Off Hit Sends Taylor Past No. 23 Rio in Home-Opener](/images/2016-17/Softball/Cozad1_IUSE.jpg)
Walk-Off Hit Sends Taylor Past No. 23 Rio in Home-Opener
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UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor softball team defeated No. 23 Rio Grande in thrilling fashion on Saturday, as Jacqueline Ryals's walk-off single in her first collegiate at-bat lifted the Trojans to a 9-8 home-opening victory over the Red Storm at Gudakunst Field.
TU led 7-0 through four innings of game one, after putting up a three-spot in the bottom of the first and a four-spot in the fourth.
Erin Cozad drove in the first two runs of the game with a one-out double to deep right-center in the first frame, scoring Cassie Kuizin and Courtney Moriarty, who reached base via walks. Taylor Wilson's sacrifice fly brought Davis Carter home for the third run of the opening stanza.
Cozad opened the home-half of the fourth with a base knock and stole second to move into scoring position. Taylor Wilson then walked, and Katie Suits drove home Cozad with a single up the middle. Kara Tucker moved Wilson over to third with a sacrifice bunt, before Hostetler's single scored Wilson to give the Trojans a 5-0 lead. Lyndsey Cornell, pinch-running for Suits, came around to score on Hannah Castor's two-out single, and Hostetler tallied the seventh TU run of the contest on Moriarty's single.
Rio Grande (8-6) then plated seven runs in the top of fifth to tie the game at 7-7, before adding the go-ahead score in the top of the seventh to put TU in a one-run hole entering the bottom of the seventh.
The first two Trojan hitters were put out in the bottom of the seventh, leaving Taylor down to its final out.
Wilson was hit by a pitch to give TU its first baserunner of the frame, and Lauren Kanai then doubled to deep left to score Wilson and tie the game at 8-8. Kanai advanced to third on the throw home, putting the winning run on third with two outs and setting up Ryals at the plate. The freshman hit a soft line drive over second base, and Kanai scored easily to secure the 9-8 home-opening win for the Purple and Gold.
Cozad paced the Taylor offense with three hits in the dramatic win, including two doubles and two runs batted in, while Castor recorded a pair of hits as well.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Rio Grande scored 17 runs over the second, third and fourth innings combined, on its way to the 17-4 win over Taylor in five innings.
RV Taylor (3-1) will host Indiana Tech (0-5) at Gudakunst Field for a doubleheader in its next contest, with the first pitch set for 3:00 pm.