Trojans Drop a Pair to RV Arizona Christian in Season-Opening Doubleheader
Game 2
Game 2
Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Arizona Christian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Game 1
Game 1
Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taylor | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
#RV Arizona Christian | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Maddi Evans delivered a pair of stout offensive performances, Kristin Mihalic's return to the lineup after a season-long absence was a successful one, and Lauren Kanai picked up right where she left off a season ago. However, errors, of which the Trojans recorded seven, proved costly as RV Taylor suffered a pair of walk-off, 4-3 losses to RV Arizona Christian to open their 2021 campaign.
The Trojans (0-2) committed three errors in the opener and four more miscues in the nightcap, resulting in five runs, including both of Arizona Christian's game-winning tallies.
Taylor fell behind 3-0 after the first inning of game one, but the Trojans battled back over the next two frames. Ashton Whitman scored on a wild pitch and freshman Aleyah Rastetter scored her first collegiate run on a Firestorm (2-0) throwing error in the second inning, cutting the Taylor deficit to one. After Lauren Kanai led off the third with a double, Evans hit a double of her own, scoring Kanai and tying the contest in the process.
However, the Trojans were held off the scoreboard the rest of the way, stranding six runners in the final five innings. Arizona Christian secured the victory in extras, scoring the game-winning run on TU's third error in the bottom of the eighth.
In the nightcap, Kanai opened the scoring for TU in the first inning, driving home Emma West with a sacrifice fly, and in the fourth, Evans crushed a two-run shot to left field, giving the Trojans a 3-1 lead.
The Firestorm, however, tied the contest in the home half of the fourth, before collecting their second-straight walk-off triumph on a Trojans' throwing error in the bottom of the seventh.
Mihalic, in her first action in nearly two years, led the Trojans' offense with three hits in six at-bats while also scoring a run. Evans finished two-for-seven with a double to go along with her two-run home run, leading the Trojans with three runs batted in. Kanai went two-for-six with a double, a run scored, and an RBI, while West recorded two hits and swiped two bases.
Evans also pitched five solid innings in the opener after a shaky start, giving up just three hits and one earned run while striking out four.
The Trojans will resume their Arizona road trip on Tuesday, facing off against Ottawa University (0-0) in the first two games of a four-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.