No. 1 Taylor Secures Fourth Straight CL Regular Season Championship

INDIANAPOLIS – In his return to the starting lineup, Nate Simpson delivered the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the 12th inning and reliever Nathan Frady tossed a career-high seven shutout innings to lift No. 1 Taylor past No. 24 Marian by a 6-5 margin in Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader. The dramatic finish was worth the wait as the extra-inning victory sealed TU's fourth straight Crossroads League Regular Season Championship, with the Trojans dogpiling late into the night at MU Ballpark.

The Trojans persevered through a rough start in Indianapolis after falling 17-8 in the opening contest, which snapped the win streak at 24 – finishing tied for the longest in program history with the 2011 squad.

TU improved to 43-4 (31-3 CL) on the season and will have a chance to break its record for most league wins (32) set last year with a pair of victories on Saturday.

In the nightcap victory, TU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning with back-to-back RBI knocks from Brayden Manning and Jordan Malott.

Manning roped a double in the first inning of both contests, moving into sole possession of second place on TU's all-time career charts for both hits (284) and runs-batted-in (229). The senior also climbed to fourth on the program's leaderboard for most career doubles (58).

Then much like it had all afternoon, Marian responded immediately with three runs to even the score at 3-3 off starter Wes Hunt, before grabbing its first lead on River Pecina's CL-leading 17th home run – a solo shot in the third inning.

Fletcher Roemmich's sacrifice fly leveled the score at 4-4 in the fifth, but another solo homer by MU's Zach Bale in the next half inning put the Knights back in front.

Leading off the top of the sixth, Malott flexed his power and launched the first pitch over the wall in center field for his team-leading and new personal single-season best 14th home run.

With the game tied at 5-5 entering the final inning (seventh), both teams received stellar pitching efforts out of the bullpen. MU's Chris Adams went six innings and struck out seven, while overcoming five walks and four hits allowed. Frady logged seven innings of four-hit ball with seven punchouts and no walks. The right-hander stranded the potential tying run after a leadoff single in the 12th and picked up his career-best fourth win on the mound.

TU left the bases loaded in the top of the seventh and stranded a pair of runners in scoring position in the eighth.

Overall, the Trojans posted nine hits and stranded 12 runners in each contest of the twinbill.

Manning (2 for 4, RBI, 2 BB) and Malott (2 for 6, 3 RBI) produced multi-hit efforts in the second game while Simpson ( 1 for 3, RBI, 3 BB), Roemmich, Luke Sutter, Sam Gladd and Quinn Kunkel each logged a base knock.

In the Game 1 setback, Brennan Frickel (2 for 3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI), Ben Kennedy (2 for 5, 2 2B) and Manning (2 for 5, 2B, RBI) led the Trojans at the dish. Malott and Roemmich were each responsible for multiple runs produced.

TU raced out to a quick 6-0 lead on a two-out rally and batting around the lineup in the second inning. Roemmich cleared the bases on a three-run triple, followed by RBI singles from Manning and Malott.

However, MU loaded the bases with no outs in the next frame and took advantage with seven runs to claim the 7-6 lead on just three hits, including a grand slam by Hector Corona. The Knights extended the lead with three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to move ahead 11-6. The Knights hit four homers in the first game, including a pair by Zach Bale.

TU's lone homer came off the bat of Brennan Frickel, with a solo blast that briefly trimmed the deficit to four, but the Knights plated two more to lead 13-7 after six complete. Frickel doubled in his next at-bat to plate the final run for the Trojans in the eighth.

Both teams finished with nine hits in the opening matchup and the squads combined for 23 walks allowed, including a season-high 10 walks surrendered by the TU pitching staff.

The Trojans and Knights will close out the regular season on Saturday, with a 1 p.m. start time for Game 1 at MU Ballpark. TU has now clinched the top seed for next week's CL Tournament in Spring Arbor, Michigan, while MU will aim to secure the No. 2 seed.