Trojans Fall in Battle With Knights
April 28, 2009
True to form, the Taylor softball team battled, fought and clawed their way toward a victory only to see it slip away in the waning moments of Tuesday's opening round game of the Mid-Central College Conference Softball Tournament against No. 2-seeded Marian.
The game was worthy of tournament status as the battle went into extra innings. Marian finally took the game 4-3 after eight innings of action.
While Marian (34-7) may have been favored in the matchup, Taylor (16-23) came in ready to prove their mettle and take the upset. The game started off well for the Knights as three runs were scored in the first inning. Assisted by an error that kept the inning alive, the Knights four hits plated three runs.
After the opening inning, senior Jill Tomaszewski would not allow the Knights to cross the plate for another seven innings. Tomaszewski ended up striking out four Marian batters and scattered ten hits. The senior and the defense behind her limited the chances for Marian to extend their lead.
Taylor responded to the early deficit and with a three-run third inning tied the game. The response was lead by Trojan upperclassmen. A two out rally started with senior Laurie Shumaker. Leading freshman contributor Laura Strode added a single and junior Liz Lewellen continued to put the pressure on with an RBI double to right field. With runners on second and third, the conference hits leader, Lindsey Arnold stepped up big and drove in two with a base hit.
Knotted at three apiece, the teams battled back and forth, with no team recording more than one hit an inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the Knights strung together just enough to get the job done. After a leadoff walk, a close play at first went Marian's way. A sacrifice bunt later, two runners were in scoring position with one out. A single into left field scored the game winner and the Knights escaped with the win.
Taylor recorded eight hits on the day. Strode and Arnold led the way with two hits apiece. Lewellen and Arnold continued to be productive and brought across all three runs to add to their team leading RBI totals.
With the loss Taylor moves into the consolation bracket of the double elimination tournament. TU will face the loser between No. 3-seeded Spring Arbor and No. 6 St. Francis. With those two teams tied at 0-0 in the third inning, tournament play was suspended for the evening due to rain. Action is expected to resume Wednesday morning.
Check www.taylor.edu/athletics/softball for updates on Wednesday's game time.