No. 1 TU Sets Home Run Record, Powers Past #RV Indiana Tech in Opening Round

Upland Bracket 2026 | NAIA Tournament Central

UPLAND, Ind. – No. 1 Taylor set the new program single-season home run record and kept its championship chase rolling Tuesday afternoon with another offensive avalanche at Winterholter Field.

Less than 24 hours after launching four home runs to open the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, TU delivered an even louder statement in the winner's bracket, erupting for 19 runs on five long balls in a 19-5 run-rule victory over third-seeded receiving-votes Indiana Tech to move within one victory of the Upland Bracket title.

Tuesday's triumph marked the largest scoring output (19) and margin of victory (14) for the Trojans during NAIA Opening Round play. The 19 runs also marks the second-highes total scored by any team during this year's NAIA tournament, thus far.

Additionally, TU has mashed 96 home runs on the season, eclipsing the previous program record of 92 set in the 2023 campaign. This year's squad achieved the feat in five fewer games.

TU has now scored 25 runs across its first two Opening Round games while improving to 51-5 — building on the winningest season in program history.

The heart of TU's lineup overwhelmed the Warriors as Luke Sutter, Brayden Manning, Jordan Malott and Brennan Frickel combined for 14 of the Trojans' 15 hits and powered an offense that once again looked every bit like the nation's most dangerous lineup. The only other hit outside of the quartet of Trojans was a grand slam off the red-hot bat of Sam Gladd, who has now homered in back-to-back games.

Malott and Frickel each turned in multi-home run performances, while Manning and Sutter constantly pressured Indiana Tech with traffic on the bases and extra-base damage throughout the afternoon. The four Trojans combined to hit 14-for-18 with 12 RBIs.

Malott authored one of the biggest postseason performances in program history, finishing 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and seven RBIs (tied season-high). The senior first baseman drove in runs in three different innings and repeatedly delivered the knockout blows against his former team as TU buried the Warriors early.

Frickel joined the long-ball barrage with a pair of home runs of his own, continuing the relentless middle-of-the-order assault. It was the senior's second career multi-home run outing.

Manning stayed scorching hot at the plate, going 4-for-5 with four runs scored and another RBI, while Sutter reached base repeatedly and crossed the plate five times. Manning surpassed 300 career hits following the performance, where he currently stands in second place on TU's all-time career hits chart.

After scratching across the game's opening run in the first inning, TU seized control with a four-run third inning before breaking the contest wide open with seven more runs in the fifth. The Trojans added three runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh, turning the winner's bracket showdown into another offensive showcase.

On the mound, veteran Wes Hunt provided the steady start TU needed, allowing just one run across five innings before the bullpen closed things out. The only hit against Hunt was a solo homer as the senior righty tallied a career-best seven punchouts for the second time this season. Gage Gongwer closed out the final inning-and-two-thirds with a pair of strikeouts.

Indiana Tech (42-16) briefly answered with a four-run sixth inning, but TU immediately countered with another four-run frame in the seventh to finish off the victory.

Now unbeaten through the tournament's first two days, TU returns to Winterholter Field on Wednesday with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch, needing one more win to secure another Opening Round championship and punch its ticket back to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho for the second time in four seasons.

The Trojans will await the winner of Wednesday's opening contest at 1:00 p.m between Indiana Tech and the winner of Shawnee State-Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.