TU Settles for Series Split After Pair of One-Run Losses

HUNTINGTON, Ind. – Taylor struggled to find its way on the mound on Monday at No. 24 Huntington (16-2, 6-2 CL), dropping a pair of heart-breaking decisions with 7-6 and 10-9 losses to the Foresters to split the four-game set with HU.

The Trojan hurlers issued 14 walks over 14.2 innings and allowed five home runs in the doubleheader, including four homers to HU's Keifer Wilson. Lane Lewis and JT Tabor were the lone bright spots on the bump for Taylor, as Lewis pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in relief in the opener and Tabor started the nightcap by working around traffic to limit the hosts to two runs in four frames.

Taylor's offense kept rolling but was haunted by an untimely five double plays on the afternoon. Brennan Frickel led the way with five hits, including two doubles and one home run to go with four runs batted in. Brayden Manning also collected five hits, and Nate Simpson ended the doubleheader with three knocks.

The two games followed similar scripts, with Huntington jumping to 2-0 leads in the first inning, before rallying late to spoil a pair of Taylor comebacks.

In the opener, TU erased early deficits of 2-0 and 4-1 by storming back for a 5-4 lead in the eighth. The Trojan bullpen could not make it stick however, as Huntington struck for a game-tying tally with two outs in the eighth, before re-tying the game in the ninth and then delivering a walk-off single with two outs.

In the second contest, Taylor again overcame a quick 2-0 hole and built a seemingly commanding 7-2 lead in the fifth inning of the seven-inning affair. The Foresters countered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, before exploding for a six-run sixth inning that gave them a 10-8 lead they would not relinquish.

No. 3 Taylor (18-3, 6-2 CL) will look to bounce back on Friday and Saturday, when it hosts Spring Arbor (9-2, 6-2 CL) for a four-game series at Winterholter Field. First pitch is set for 3:00 pm on Friday and 1:00 pm on Saturday.