Softball Opens MCC Play with Road Split

March 19, 2009

In their last series before a week long spring break tournament, the Taylor softball team had to focus itself and prepare to take on Goshen College in the Mid-Central College Conference opener. Traveling to Goshen to take on the Maple Leafs, Taylor came away with a win and a loss.

In the first game of the doubleheader, the Lady Trojans matched Goshen hit for hit, but were unable to get runs across the plate. A pair of doubles in the second inning by Lindsey Stone and Alyssa Brodbeck plated the only run for Taylor. Brodbeck ended the game 2-for-3 with two doubles.

On the mound for TU was Jessica Fankhauser who picked up the loss, allowing only six hits on the day. Fankhauser struck out eight Maple Leaf batters while walking only one. Picking up only her second loss, the junior moves to 3-2 on the year.

In the second game the Taylor offense came to life. The TU bats ended up supporting the pitching tandem of Kristen Bauer and Jill Tomaszewski with 14 runs to gain the win. Bauer was the starting pitcher and went 3 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 2. Coming on in relief, Tomaszewski shone; striking out 6 and had 2 runs score as the result of errors while allowing no hits in 4 innings.

The offensive barrage was again led by a platoon of Lady Trojans. Taylor's leading hitter, senior Lindsey Arnold, added to her totals with 4 hits, including three extra base hits. Emily Kramer and Alyssa Brodbeck each added three hits, with Lindsey Stone added a double and a hit. Kramer added three RBIs to her total on the year, as nine Taylor batters gained an RBI, showcasing a balanced offense. Junior Liz Lewellen leads the team in RBIs with over 10 on the year. Taylor won the game 14-8, scoring three times as much as any previous game this season.

With the first conference series under their belts, Taylor softball heads to Tucson, Arizona to play 10 games in 6 days. The Tucson Invitational consists of teams from all across the nation, including several NCAA Division III schools. The first game for Taylor takes place on Saturday, March 21 at 9 a.m. local time against Trinity Christian College.