TU Stacks Up Runs in Saturday Sweep of Goshen
UPLAND, Ind. – With the day’s first pitch thrown at 10:00 am Saturday morning, the Taylor University baseball team went on to defeat Goshen (5-23, 2-16 CL) in each of Saturday’s two doubleheader games, outscoring the Maple Leafs 23-4 by day’s end.
Throughout the day, Taylor’s offense was primarily powered by a three-headed monster, as freshman, Kaleb Kolpien, junior, TJ Bass, and senior, Conner Crawford, went a combined 14-21 from the dish, driving in 13 runs and plating 12 more runs-scored of their own.
Bass blasted two home runs, one in each game, briefly taking the team-lead with 10 before Crawford matched him with his 10th home run of the season in game two. The two Trojans remain at the top of the Crossroads League leaderboard in RBI, Bass now with 55 and Crawford not far behind with 49.
Meanwhile, Kolpien took back the league’s top spot in batting average, boosting his percentage to .429 with five base knocks throughout Saturday’s twin bill.
Speaking of league leaders, though, Luke Shively (8-0) picked up his eight win of the season in game two, traversing five innings of work and allowing just three hits in tandem with five strikeouts.
With his league-leading eighth win, Shively became the first Trojan pitcher to start a season 8-0 since Zach Vander Laan did so in 2011.
Game one’s 13-1 victory was highlighted by an 11-run second inning, in which the Trojans sent 16 batters to the box. After the first man recorded an out, nine-consecutive Trojan batters reached base. Six hits, three walks, and four hit-by-pitches scattered the scorebook as Taylor established a 13-0 lead.
As a companion to the three-headed monster, freshman, Mason David, pitched in two hits of his own, including a two-run single to right in that memorable second inning.
Meanwhile, Michael Pinarski (2-3) got the nod in game one, navigating six innings of work behind Taylor’s extended lead. Pinarski surrendered just three hits and one run, while sitting three Goshen batters down via the strikeout.
Alec Holcomb, then, came on in the seventh for his sixth appearance of the season, tossing a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts.
The offense failed to relent in game two, posting runs on the board in each of the first four innings, including a three-run first and a four-run second.
Bass and Crawford continued to duke it out in the RBI-category, each catapulting a pitch over the left-field fence in the second inning that endangered the neighboring track-and-field event.
Meanwhile, Kolpien continued to do his thing, going 2-3 from the plate and scoring two runs.
Senior shortstop, Nick Rusche, fueled the fire with a pair of doubles, now sharing the second spot in the league with 14 on the season. Rusche extended his league-lead in the runs-scored category to six, plating three throughout the day to bump his season-total to 40 on the season.
Shively cruised through his five innings behind the Trojan offensive attack, before senior, Drew Kindy, tossed a scoreless sixth. Jack Ross, then, came on in the midst of a rocky seventh inning and calmed the game to a 10-3 close.
Taylor (24-10, 14-4) is scheduled to embark on a 10-game road trip, beginning on Monday, April 4th, when the Trojans are slated to play St. Francis (19-12, 8-6) at 1:00 pm.
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