Gems by Cullen and Noah Lead Trojans to Sweep of Foresters
UPLAND, Ind. – A pair of gems inside the circle by Claire Cullen and Mackenzie Noah carried Taylor to a sweep over Huntington on Tuesday evening at Gudakunst Field.
Cullen (10-5) started the opener and looked unhittable through the first three innings with five strikeouts and no hits allowed. Cullen finished the evening with a win and two runs allowed, just one earned, in a complete game with seven punch-outs.
Not to be outdone by her freshman counterpart, Noah (10-6) tossed a complete game shutout victory in the nightcap. The sensational senior kept the Foresters off-balanced the entire game, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out four.
Taylor struck early in the opener after Madisyn Standridge swiped her first of four bases on the day and scored on an RBI single to left by Livie Lehmann.
Huntington scored an unearned run in the fourth to knot it at one, but Delaynee McCreary quickly restored the trojan lead with a solo home run to dead center before Bella Browning doubled with two outs and scored on a single up the middle by Emri Agre for a two-run lead.
Cullen got into trouble in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs but came away with just one run allowed and the lead still intact.
In a wild bottom of the sixth, Taylor netted three insurance runs after an RBI single plated another run when Huntington overthrew home plate on a rundown and another RBI by Lehmann, who is just seven away from tying the single-season program record.
The blustering cold evening cooled the bats of both squads in the nightcap as Taylor (26-16, 15-13 CL) secured a 1-0 victory in a pitcher's duel.
The Trojans scored the game's lone run in the second after Delaney Barton walked with one out, and pinch-runner Madison Raley reached second on a sacrifice bunt. Freshman Claire Duncan, in her second start of the season, delivered the key hit with a single down the left field line to plate Raley.
Huntington (26-13-1, 15-10-1 CL) looked poised to respond with a runner on third and only one out in the third, but Noah induced a pair of weak pop-ups to end the threat and keep the Foresters scoreless.
Leading by the narrowest of margins, the Foresters began the sixth with a leadoff double, but after an out, a flyball to right turned into a double play as Grae Mullins delivered a strike to third to nail the runner trying to advance and end the inning.
Running out of ideas, Huntington trotted out a pair of pinch hitters in the final inning, but Noah sent them back to the dugout and finished the night in fitting fashion, with her fourth and final strikeout looking.
Taylor will look to carry the momentum with them on Thursday, April 17, with a matchup against Grace (7-24-1, 3-22-1 CL) back at home beginning at 4:00 pm.
