No. 1 Taylor Reaches 50 Wins, Launches Four Home Runs in 6-1 Opening Round Victory

Upland Bracket 2026 | NAIA Tournament Central

UPLAND, Ind. – For the fifth straight season, the NAIA national tournament returned to Winterholter Field carrying the weight of expectation and unfinished business. After back-to-back Opening Round exits despite record-setting seasons, No. 1 Taylor began writing the next chapter Monday night.

The Trojans (50-5), who are the top seed in the Upland Bracket for the second straight year, launched four home runs and beat fifth-seeded Shawnee State 6-1, commencing tournament play with a victory for the fourth straight season. They are now the first 50-win team in program history.

Fletcher Roemmich got the momentum going early for the Trojans, lifting a deep drive over the opposite-field wall in right for a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, and as he touched the plate, his 80th run of the season made him the program's single-season runs leader. It was also the senior's 11th long ball of the season.

Two innings later, Ben Kennedy, who has homered in back-to-back games and was named the Crossroads League Player of the Week earlier in the day, followed up a Nate Simpson single with a two-run blast to left-center on a full-count offer. The lead was quickly 3-0 in favor of the Purple & Gray after Kennedy's 10th blast of the campaign.

Sam Gladd connected on another long ball in the fourth frame. His two-run blast to center came off the bat at 105 mph and traveled 413 feet for the loudest moment of the afternoon and pushed TU in front, 5-0. It was Gladd's eighth home run of the season and 44th of his Trojan career which ranks second all-time.

Brayden Manning capped the home-run barrage with a solo shot to left in the seventh, his career-best 13th of the season and his 40th as a Trojan. Manning has now hit safely in 14 straight games. He also stands at 297 career hits, second on Taylor's all-time list.

Starter Lane Lewis worked 4.2 shutout innings before turning the game over to Nathan Frady. The sophomore righty scattered five hits, walked no one, struck out four and retired the leadoff batter in five consecutive frames. Frady (5-1) took it from there. The junior right-hander worked 4.1 innings of one-run, no-walk relief and generated 11 groundball outs.

Shawnee State's lone run came in the eighth, when Jack Amis scored on a Zach Gaspar RBI single after reaching on an error. The Bears entered the day riding a 65-game streak of not being shut out, and the streak survived.

TU outhit the Bears 12-9, with hits coming from nine different Trojans. Monday's four home runs pushed the program's season total to 90, two swings shy of the school record of 92 set in 2023. The team's run total crossed 600 and sits at 604 — already a program record and still climbing.

Roemmich (2-for-5), Kennedy (2-for-4) and Kaden Wu (2-for-3) each posted a pair of knocks for multi-hit efforts. Jordan Malott, Brennan Frickel and Quinn Kunkel each also notched a base hit, with the freshman Kunkel delivering a pinch-hit liner in his NAIA tournament debut.

For Shawnee State (33-19), Diego Mendoza and Mason Reid each had two hits, and Gaspar drove in the lone run. Owen Elsey (5-4) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings, surrendering three of TU's four home runs.

The Bears, out of the River States Conference, were making their first NAIA Opening Round appearance since 2011 and had reached the Taylor matchup by beating No. 4 seed Mount Mercy in Monday's opener. They drop to the elimination side of the bracket and face the winner of Tuesday's Game 4 at 6 p.m.

Taylor (50-5) returns at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday against third-seeded #RV Indiana Tech in the Winner's side of the bracket. The Warriors defeated No. 17 and second-seeded Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), 16-10 on Monday.