TU Falls Twice to Ranked NCAA DIII Teams

March 25, 2009

Taylor softball saw their four game win streak come to an end Wednesday morning. Taylor battled two NCAA Division III teams and fell by the scores of 4-2 and 12-0.

First up for the Trojans was Gustavus Adolphus College from Minnesota. The Gusties came into the game 10-3 on the year. Taylor battled Gustavus to the end of the game, but fell by two runs.

The scorebook saw most of the statistical categories have Taylor with the advantage, but in the end the scoreboard had the final say for Gustavus. Taylor recorded 11 hits while Gustavus had 10. Taylor ended up leaving 13 on base while Gustavus left 8. Taylor also bettered the Gusties in the defensive effort, only recording one error to GAC's four.

Jill Tomaszewski pitched the entire game, giving up two earned runs and four total runs. Jill struck out 5 while walking only 1 in conjunction with 10 hits given up. The senior leads the team in strikeouts with over 30 on the year.

Offensively Taylor continued to swing well, as four Trojans recorded multiple hits. Laurie Shumaker went 2-for-3 and fellow senior Lindsey Arnold went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Alyssa Brodbeck and Emily Kramer ended up with 3 hits apiece to lead the offense.

Gustavus, who was receiving votes to be nationally ranked in the last Div. III ranking, raises their record to 11-3 on the year while Taylor falls to 10-9.

In the second game of the day Taylor took on Luther College from Iowa. The Norse came into the game with an 8-1 record and ranked #6 in the NCAA Div. III national rankings as of March 18th. Taylor couldn't muster the offense necessary to challenge Luther and lost 12-0 in 5 innings.

Pitching for Taylor was Jess Fankhauser. While the Luther offense was potent, recording 14 hits, Fankhauser did some damage, recording 8 strikeouts in 5 innings pitched.

The Taylor offense was stymied against the Luther pitching staff, gaining only two hits in the game. Emily Kramer and Laura Strode recorded the hits for the TU offense. The game was close until a 9-run fifth inning by the Norse finished off the game in run-rule fashion.

Luther increased their record to 9-1. Taylor fell back to 10-10, once again at .500 on the season. TU wraps up the Tucson Invitational schedule on Thursday with a final day doubleheader. Taylor faces off against Calvin College and St. Catherine (MN).