If the adage, 'fool me twice, shame on me,' still holds, then the entire Crossroads League should be fooled silly to think they would beat the Taylor Trojans in the conference tournament.
For the second year in a row, the Trojans won both the regular season title and the conference tournament, repeating an accomplishment they had not achieved since 2013.
Last season, Taylor entered the tourney sporting a 37-13 record, the one seed and a No. 18 ranking nationally. This year, the Trojans brought the No. 9 ranking and a 41-8 record to the tournament's one seed.
Taylor started slow in their first tournament game, going down 3-0 in the top of the second inning to the Huntington Foresters. Freshman shortstop Braden Kauffman hit a solo home run before an error and a fielder's choice put the Trojans in an early hole. However, it didn't take long for TU to find their form after junior second baseman Fletcher Roemmich went the distance for a two-run homer to break open the scoring as Taylor stole all the momentum and rolled to a 16-4 victory.
Mount Vernon Nazarene brought more trouble to the Trojans in game two. MVNU had broken Taylor's 18-game win streak in March and were hungry to play spoiler once again. Through four innings, the Cougars held a 4-2 lead with freshman starting pitcher Brody Fine struggling to keep runs off the board, despite throwing seven strikeouts.
Down 5-2 through six innings, Taylor got back into form, as left field sophomore Luke Sutter, senior center fielder Luke Picchiotti and junior shortstop Ben Kennedy hammered senior relief pitcher Maxwell Donawa to take the lead 6-5. Both sides battled out to a 7-7 tie in the ninth inning, where senior third baseman Mason David brought in Kennedy on a walk-off single in an 8-7 win.
In game three, Taylor faced Indiana Wesleyan and took a rare loss as sophomore IWU starter Kevin Corcoran pitched a nine-inning shutout with only two strikeouts. IWU out-hit Taylor 10-4, and despite two errors, sent the Trojans to the elimination bracket, and the Wildcats to the championship, 5-0.
The tough road continued against Saint Francis, as for the fourth straight game, Taylor went down early. The Cougars scored two in the second innings from a fielder's choice and a pickoff error. Not to be deterred, Taylor fought back to tie the game 2-2 in the fourth inning, but fell behind again, entering the seventh inning down 4-3.
Taylor found a golden opportunity midway through the seventh as senior right fielder Kaleb Kolpien was intentionally walked to load the bases. A wild pitch brought David home, and a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly later, Taylor found themselves in the driver's seat, sending them to the championship.
Their rematch with Indiana Wesleyan would require some extra work. The Wildcats had stayed perfect throughout the tournament, meaning Taylor would have to beat them in two straight games.
Game one was a grating defensive duel. Both teams left a combined 20 runners stranded on the base paths and Taylor's defense led them to victory as a two-RBI double from Sutter was all the runs needed in a 3-1 win.
The final game had all the makings of an all-time finish. Indiana Wesleyan opened the floodgates early, scoring four runs and two home runs off starting freshman pitcher JJ Prendergast. Head coach Kyle Gould opted for a bullpen game from his pitching staff, with six pitchers building off each other for 11 strikeouts.
IWU couldn't hold their lead as sophomore starting pitcher Noah Wathen struggled, walking four and allowing three runs in two and a third innings, before senior relief pitcher Caleb Olsen walked two batters and allowed the tying run without recording an out. Sophomore reliever Cam Lafuze entered in the bottom of the third and would pitch the rest of the game, throwing eight strikeouts and walking three.
Neither team could buy a run for five innings, as it came down to the ninth. Junior reliever Jake Boyer came in for Taylor with a runner on second and earned a quick three outs to put the Trojans back on offense.
Junior outfielder Brayden Manning reached first base after being hit by a pitch, followed by a Sutter single. Picchiotti was intentionally walked and after a force out at home, Roemmich finished the job, hitting a single to right center field as the Trojans stormed the field with a 5-4 victory and a program-best 46 wins in tow.
Taylor carries their banner, their top-10 ranking and high hopes into the NAIA World Series Opening Round. They host the Upland Bracket from May 12-14 against Grand View, Kansas Wesleyan and Bellevue.
