Trojans Tame Wildcats
April 29, 2009
Riding high on the wings of their thrilling eight inning win over St. Francis just hours earlier, the Taylor softball team notched a 1-0 win late Wednesday over Grant County rival Indiana Wesleyan on day two of the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament.
Junior pitcher Jess Fankhauser pitched a complete game shutout as she dominated Wildcat batters all night long, including four strikeouts. The four hits she allowed were tempered by stellar defensive support from the Trojan infield. The closest IWU got to scoring was a play in the second inning. A hit and overthrow to third led to a play at the plate but a Liz Lewellen to Lindsey Arnold connection snuffed out the scoring attempt.
In Taylor's half of the fourth inning, the heart of the order for the Trojans came through. With one out, Arnold stepped to the plate and laced a single to right field that got through the outfielder's legs, allowing the senior catcher to cruise into third. The only miscue on the day for either side proved to be fatal for the Wildcats. Alyssa Brodbeck came through in the clutch again as a sacrifice fly to right allowed Arnold to score.
That sequence was all the Trojans needed as the defense and Fankhauser negated any further chances for the Wildcats. A lone hit with two outs in the seventh was all the offense IWU could muster, but the Wildcats came away empty-handed as Fankhauser struck out the final batter to seal the Trojan victory.
As the final strike was called the jubilation in the stands and the field poured over. Taylor continues their march through the consolation bracket and elimination game intensity on Thursday. TU will face off against Spring Arbor University with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 pm.
In their two regular season contests, Taylor and SAU battled to two extra inning games with the Cougars winning by scores of 6-4 and 6-2.