No. 1 Taylor Slugs Its Way to 22 Straight Wins

UPLAND, Ind. – No. 1 Taylor outscored cross-county rival Indiana Wesleyan 40-20 in a doubleheader sweep Thursday at Winterholter Field, winning the opener 23-13 and the nightcap 17-7 to extend its winning streak to 22 games.

The Trojans (40-3, 28-2 CL) reached 40 wins for a fifth consecutive season and set a new program mark for longest league winning streak since 2011, topping the previous best of 21. TU has now scored 11 or more runs in 14 straight games, and every spot in the batting order hit a home run across the two games.

Brayden Manning powered the nightcap with his third four-hit outing of the season (4 for 4, 3B, HR, 6 RBIs), falling a double shy of the cycle while posting six RBIs, the second-most by a Trojan this season behind Jordan Malott's seven. The homer was his 37th career long ball, where he sits fourth on TU's all-time list.

Manning also climbed to third on the program's career hits list with 278, now two shy of second place, and sits one RBI from second all-time.

Sam Gladd went deep in the nightcap (1 for 3, HR, RBI), his 42nd career home run, moving him into sole possession of second place on TU's all-time list. Ben Kennedy posted a season-high four hits in the opener (4 for 4, 2 2B, 2 RBIs), scoring five times.

Fletcher Roemmich added three hits including a three-run homer in the second (3 for 6, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBIs), and Jordan Malott launched a three-run shot of his own for his fifth game this season with four or more RBIs (1 for 3, HR, 4 RBIs).

Brennan Frickel's three-run blast in the third made it 17-5 (1 for 3, HR, 3 RBIs). Brady Gerig connected on his first career home run (2 for 3, HR, 2 RBIs) and Sutter (1 for 4, HR, 2 RBIs) also went deep in the opener.

The six TU home runs in Game 1 tied a season high set on opening day against Corban, and the two teams combined for 11 on a windy afternoon that played a major factor in the power surge. Twelve of TU's 16 hits in the game went for extra bases.

IWU (26-17, 19-11 CL) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the opener on an RBI single from Matthew Drozlek and a three-run homer by Ben Seitzinger. TU answered with four in the bottom of the frame, tying it on a pair of passed balls and a wild pitch after Malott's RBI fielder's choice had cut the deficit to 4-1.

A nine-run second blew the game open. Sutter's sacrifice fly, Malott's three-run homer and Kennedy's solo shot fueled the surge, and Roemmich capped it with a three-run blast to push the lead to 13-4. Frickel's three-run homer in the third made it 17-5. IWU hit five home runs of their own but never got closer than six.

Jake Boyer earned the win in relief to improve to 6-1, working three innings. Nathan Frady closed it out with 1.2 scoreless innings.

The nightcap followed a similar script. Manning's two-run homer in the first gave TU an early lead, and after IWU tied it at 2-2 on a Carson Bush double, Gladd answered with a solo shot in the second. Manning's two-run triple down the right-field line later in the frame pushed it to 5-2.

An eight-run third put the game out of reach. TU collected 15 hits in the nightcap, with Sutter's RBI single, Manning's RBI single, Malott's sacrifice fly and Kennedy's two-run double highlighting the frame as TU sent 11 batters to the plate and took a 13-4 lead.

Wes Hunt improved to 6-0 with 4.1 innings of work and six strikeouts. Hunter Doran worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing one run with four strikeouts.

Roemmich reached base in both games to extend his streak of reaching safely in every contest this season. He carries a 10-game hitting streak and went 3 for 4 with an RBI in the nightcap, giving him six hits across the doubleheader. Sutter added two hits and two RBIs in the nightcap (2 for 4, 2B, 2 RBIs), and Kaden Wu provided a solo homer in the sixth.

TU has now hit 71 home runs and scored 501 runs on the season. Malott leads the team with 13, followed by Manning with 10.

The Wildcats were led by Drozlek, who went 4 for 5 with a double and an RBI in the opener, and Nick Wiley, who homered and doubled among his two hits.

TU and IWU continue the four-game series with a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Friday at Winterholter Field.