Trojans Defeat RV MVNU, No. 9 Marian to Advance to CL Tournament Championship
UPLAND, Ind. – On the third day of the 2021 Crossroads League Tournament at Gudakunst Field, No. 4 seed Taylor (42-17), behind a number of stellar offensive performances and its usual stout pitching, recorded its two biggest wins of the season, defeating both No. 3 seed Mount Vernon Nazarene and No. 1 seed Marian to punch its ticket to the CL Tournament Championship.
Taylor first baseman Kristin Mihalic recorded a pair of round trippers and drove in three runs in a 4-2 victory over the Cougars (28-12), before the Trojans pounded out 15 hits, including four home runs, in a 10-4 triumph over the Knights (45-13). With the two victories, the Trojans increased their win total to 42, tying the record for the most wins in a single season set back in 2014.
In the Trojans’ two most important contests of the 2021 campaign, Maddi Evans (22-4) elevated her game, both in the circle and at the plate, to another level. The junior allowed just four hits and two runs against Mount Vernon Nazarene, striking out four in 4.1 innings of work, before pitching five innings of three-hit ball against the Knights, striking out four more to increase her season total to 246. Furthermore, the Fairmount, Indiana native dominated Marian pitching, finishing 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, a two-run shot, two runs scored, and five RBI, serving as the catalyst in the Trojans’ eventual triumph.
Kara Tucker went 4-for-6 from the plate in the two contests, including a three-hit, three RBI performance against the Knights, while Mihalic and Emma West each finished 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. Aleyah Rastetter collected four hits, two RBI, and a solo shot in seven appearances at the plate, while Lauren Kanai and Caitlyn Grim added two hits apiece.
Taylor grabbed an early advantage against MVNU, scoring three of its four runs in the opening frame. Rastetter doubled down the left field line to score West for Taylor’s first run, before Mihalic’s two-run blast to right-center field increased the Trojans’ lead to 3-0.
After MVNU got a run back in the third frame, Mihalic added a little insurance with her second home run of the contest and 11th of the season, putting the Trojans in control the rest of the way.
Jessica Doctor was stellar in relief, recording her second save. The senior allowed just three hits while striking out one in the final 2.2 frames.
With the Trojans trailing 2-1 to the Knights heading into the bottom of the fourth frame, one swing of the bat from Evans changed the course of the contest. After the Trojans took advantage of a rare Marian miscue, and after Tucker tied the game at 2-2 with her second RBI single of the game, Evans ripped her ninth home run of the season, a three-run bomb, over the center field fence, giving the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. Rastetter followed Evans with a home run of her own, increasing the Taylor advantage to 6-2 after four innings of play.
Taylor kept the pedal down in the fifth, tacking on three more runs. Tucker’s third RBI base hit scored Grim, before Evans’ 10th home run, and second in as many innings, made it a 9-2 Taylor lead.
Despite a near-hour long weather delay that occurred in the top of the sixth inning, the Trojans were not deterred. Ashton Whitman’s first hit of the tournament, a solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the sixth, put the exclamation mark on a remarkable offensive outing, and Kanai struck out three of the last four batters she faced in relief to secure the victory.
Against a Marian pitching staff that averaged 2.3 runs and 6.0 hits allowed per contest, Taylor’s top four hitters – West, Tucker, Evans, and Rastetter – combined for 10 hits, nine RBI, and five runs scored. Additionally, nine of Taylor’s 10 runs in the contest came with two outs.
Taylor moves on to face No. 2 seed and cross county rival Indiana Wesleyan (43-6) in the CL Tournament Championship beginning at 1:00 pm. Due to the tournament’s double elimination format, with a victory, the Trojans would face the Wildcats again at 3:00 pm in a winner-take-all contest.
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