Top-Ranked Trojans Close Strong with Series Win at No. 24 Marian

INDIANAPOLIS – Fresh off Thursday's 12-inning marathon victory to capture the Crossroads League Regular Season Championship, No. 1 Taylor nabbed a series win over No. 24 Marian by sweeping Saturday's regular-season finale doubleheader at MU Ballpark. The Trojans took the opener 4-2 before holding off the Knights 9-6 in the nightcap, giving Taylor (45-4, 33-3 CL) three wins in the four-game series.

With Saturday's pair of victories, the Trojans set new program records for most regular season wins (45), most league wins (33) and most road wins (23). TU has also clinched its best overall win percentage, regardless of its finish in postseason play.

TU has now registered four consecutive 30-win seasons in league play, with an overall league record of 125-19 (.868) during that time span. The Trojans have not dropped a CL series in five years (46 consecutive).

On Saturday, eight Trojan arms combined to limit the Knights to nine hits across 18 innings, tightening up in the biggest moments to help secure the sweep.

In Game 1, TU starter Lane Lewis worked into the fifth and scattered three hits over 4.2 innings, as the Trojans built an early lead and held on. JT Tabor followed with two scoreless frames to improve to 7-0 on the season. Nick Crabtree fanned four over 1.1 hitless innings of relief to bridge the game to the ninth, where the Knights put runners on first and second with no outs, bringing the tying run to the plate. Veteran righty Jake Boyer took over on the mound, inducing a fly ball to right field before ending the contest on a double play to earn his fourth save of the season.

TU plated two runs in the opening frame as Fletcher Roemmich singled and scored on Jordan Malott's sacrifice fly. Brennan Frickel followed with an RBI double down the left-field line for a 2-0 advantage. Quinn Kunkel added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and after Calvin Miller's solo home run and an RBI double trimmed the Trojan lead to one in the fifth, Luke Sutter's clutch RBI single in the ninth provided crucial insurance.

Frickel (2-for-3, 2B), Roemmich (2-for-4, 2B), Gladd (2-for-3) and Sutter (2-for-4) each recorded multi-hit games in the opener. Miller (1-for-2, HR), Pecina (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Sarkey (2-for-4, 2B) led the Knights.

In Game 2, TU rallied after the Knights plated five runs in the fourth to grab a 6-3 advantage. Up to that point, Ben Kennedy's RBI double and Sam Gladd's run-scoring single staked Taylor to a 2-1 lead in the second, and Nate Simpson's RBI double extended it to 3-1 in the fourth, before the big inning for Marian. Luke Klunke entered with the bases loaded and held the line, working 2.2 innings without allowing an earned run. The right-hander would end up collecting the win, improving to 3-0 on the year.

The Trojans needed only one inning to respond. Frickel's RBI single in the fifth narrowed the gap, Kennedy worked a walk, and Gladd drove a three-run home run to put TU back in front 7-6. The blast was his seventh of the season and the 43rd of Gladd's career, and the four-RBI afternoon was his third such outing of the year.

Tyler Allemeier scored on a wild pitch in the seventh and pinch hitter Rylee Singleton singled up the middle to drive in Kennedy for insurance. Blake Osbourne closed out the final 1.1 innings to seal the sweep.

Gladd (2-for-3, HR, 4 RBI) paced the nightcap offense. Kennedy (1-for-2, 2B), Simpson (1-for-4, 2B), Frickel (1-for-2) and Singleton (1-for-1) also drove in runs. Sarkey (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Pecina (RBI) led the Knights.

At the conclusion of regular season action, Frickel (.425) and Brayden Manning (.417) finished as the leaders of the Crossroads League in batting average.

Frickel also led the conference in on-base percentage (.552) and doubles (17) in league games while hitting .453 in conference play. Manning led the league in hits with 75, with Roemmich third (69) and Sutter tied for fifth (65). Jordan Malott led the conference in runs produced with 72, and Manning ranked third at 62.

Roemmich extended his hitting streak to a season-high 16 games and pushed his on-base streak to 60, a run that dates back 11 games into last season. The senior has hit safely in all but four contests this season. Sutter has also reached base in 22 consecutive contests after getting hit by a pitch in Saturday's nightcap.

For Marian (35-14, 27-9 CL), Landon Sarkey collected four hits over the doubleheader and River Pecina drove in a pair.

The Trojans turn their attention to postseason play, entering the CL Tournament, hosted by Spring Arbor, as the top overall seed with their first game slated for 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.