No. 9 Taylor Sweeps Grace in Crossroads League-Opening Doubleheader
UPLAND, Ind. – No. 9 Taylor used a pair of explosive offensive performances to sweep Grace in a Crossroads League-opening doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Winterholter Field, combining for 30 runs, 28 hits and seven home runs across the two games. The Trojans (14-1, 2-0 CL) won both contests in seven innings, 12-2 and 18-3, while head coach Kyle Gould picked up career win No. 750 following the Game 1 victory.
TU wasted little time setting the tone in the opener. Grace (5-5, 0-2 CL) grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Caleb Stogsdill walked and scored on a sacrifice fly by Maddox Friesema, but the Trojans answered with a five-run first inning.
Nate Simpson delivered an RBI single through the right side to tie it, before Quinn Kunkel cleared the bases with a three-run double to left field, and Brennan Frickel followed with an RBI double to left center, giving Taylor a 5-1 advantage before Grace starter Caden Heminger could escape the frame.
Kunkel added a three-run home run to right center in the third, capitalizing on a pair of Grace errors that put runners aboard. The freshman designated hitter produced a career-high six RBIs after his first two at-bats of the day, which tied Luke Sutter for the most RBIs recorded in one game by a Trojan this season.
Jordan Malott launched his first of two home runs on the day with a two-run homer to left center in the sixth after Brayden Manning reached on a throwing error, pushing the lead to 11-2.
TU tacked on the final run in the seventh when Malott was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Fletcher Roemmich.
Roemmich finished the opener 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, while Kunkel drove in a game-high six runs on two hits. Frickel went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles.
On the mound, Brody Fine earned the win to improve to 4-0, scattering three hits and two runs over a season-high six innings with five strikeouts and just one walk. The right-hander, who earned CL Pitcher of the Week on Monday, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before a leadoff home run by Jose Ayala. Fine needed only 72 pitches to complete his outing. Lane Lewis tossed a clean seventh to close it out.
The Trojans carried that momentum into Game 2, erupting for 11 runs across the first two innings. Manning doubled home Sutter in the first before Simpson crushed a two-run homer to center field for a 3-0 lead.
The second inning proved decisive as Taylor sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs. Roemmich singled home a pair to start the rally, and Malott followed with a three-run homer to center. Three consecutive bases-loaded walks issued by Grace — to Kaden Wu, Roemmich and Sutter — pushed the lead to 11-0 before Grace could record the third out.
Grace got two unearned runs back in the third on a Friesema two-run single, but Ben Kennedy answered with a solo homer to center in the bottom of the frame.
Sutter added a two-run shot in the fourth, and Wu capped the scoring with a three-run moonshot to left center in the fifth, giving Taylor an 18-2 lead at the time. Wu's blast traveled 451 feet at a speed of 105 miles per hour off the bat. Wu finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs and a double in a productive day behind the plate. Sutter drove in three runs on just one hit thanks to two walks and the home run, while Malott matched that total with his three-run blast, which put him in a tie with Manning for the team lead in home runs (5) and RBIs (24) on the year.
In the nightcap, TU tallied 17 hits and five home runs — both the second-highest single-game marks of the season for the Purple & Gray. The Trojans tallied a season-high 35 total bases.
The Trojans used four pitchers in Game 2, led by starter Wes Hunt, who earned the win to move to 3-0 after four innings of three-hit ball with six strikeouts. Blake Osbourne closed the game with a scoreless seventh, striking out two.
TU and Grace will close out the four-game series tomorrow in Winona Lake, with Game 1 scheduled for a noon first pitch.