No. 10 TU Secures Shutout Victory in Series Opener

UPLAND, Ind. – Gabel Pentecost struck out 10 Maple Leafs in five innings and Gage Gongwer completed the combined shutout in game one Friday afternoon as the No. 10 Taylor baseball team (31-8, 22-4 CL) defeated Goshen, 11-0, before falling in the nightcap, 5-1.

The Trojans took advantage of an extra out in the second inning of Friday's opener, using a sacrifice bunt from Ben Kennedy and three walks to grab a 1-0 lead.

Nate Simpson and Brayden Manning sandwiched a single from Sam Gladd with doubles to begin the third frame, as TU batted around and plated five runs to go ahead, 6-0.

On the mound, Pentecost (9-1) was in cruise control after working around some hard contact in the first frame. The junior struck out the final five batters he faced en route to picking up his ninth win of the season and 23rd of his career, which places him tied-fourth in the program during the Kyle Gould era. The Fremont, Indiana, native also climbed two spots on Taylor's all-time strikeouts list Friday, with his 248 strikeouts also positioning him fourth.

At the dish, a sacrifice fly from Simpson brought the score to 7-0 in the fifth inning before the Trojans set up for a run-rule victory with a four-run bottom of the sixth.

Manning and Luke Picchiotti notched a double and triple, respectively, to open the frame, as TU quickly scored twice. With two outs and nobody on, Luke Sutter walked and Mason David doubled pinch-runner Drew Loy home to make it 10-0. Kaleb Kolpien then drove in the game's final run with a single to right field.

Gongwer closed the day by inducing a groundball double play to first baseman Sam Gladd as the Trojans secured win No. 22 in conference play. The right-hander struck out two batters across his two innings of work.

Misplays in the field and a lack of pop in Taylor's bats led to a 5-1 defeat in game two.

All runs scored in the nightcap were unearned, as Brody Fine got the contest started working 3.2 innings without allowing a hit. He retired seven Maple Leafs on strikeouts.

Goshen took a 5-0 advantage with a four-run fourth frame. Picchiotti got one run back with an RBI-single in the home half of the inning as part of a two-hit game for the senior, but the Trojan lineup could not muster much else off of GC starter, Eric Pettipiece.

Dalton Swinehart and Conner Miller combined to pitch the final 3.1 innings of scoreless ball for TU.

No. 10 Taylor has a chance to win the series Saturday at Winterholter Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.