MISHAWAKA, Ind. --- The series against the No. 13 Taylor Trojans (26-5, 17-1) started with a tough battle, with
Noah Borwege keeping the Trojans close despite the 7-4 game one loss for the Bethel Pilots (10-16, 5-13) who would later finish the day with a 19-6 loss in the nightcap.
GAME 1
Borwege and Gabel Pentecost were in a pitching duel into the fifth inning, with the Trojans breaking the silence with a single to center and grounded into a double play that allowed a run to score from third to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the third.
The Trojans tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth with a wild pitch scoring one and a two-RBI double to left-center to pull away 5-0. In the bottom of the frame,
Elijah Gaines scored
Adam Walters and
Hudson Francis after an error by the second baseman, followed by
Jacob Sitterly's two-RBI double down the left field line to get within one run 5-4.
Taylor edged ahead with an RBI single to left in the top of the eighth, then added another run from an RBI double to right to take the win 7-4.
Noah Borwege (0-3) was given the loss after leaving the game in the fifth after throwing 4.2 innings and allowing five runs (four earned), six hits, walking three, and striking out four. Pete Wallsmith closed the game in 4.1 innings pitched, allowing six hits, two runs, and striking out three.
GAME 2
The nightcap went through one inning of scoreless baseball before Taylor put up two runs in the top of the second from a two-run home run, followed by another three runs in the top of the third by an RBI double to left and a two-RBI single to center for a quick 5-0 advantage.
Sitterly was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth to plate
Elijah Gaines, then
Corbin Greenslade scored two runs off an error by the second baseman to make it a 5-3 ballgame.
The Trojans had two big seven-run innings in the top of the fifth and seventh to pull away with 19 runs, but the Pilots went out swinging with Gaines looping an RBI single through the left side,
Jesse Stout doubled down the right field line, and
Jordan Landkrohn hit a sacrifice fly to center. The Pilots would fall 19-6.
Harvey Weston (2-3) was given the loss after throwing 4.1 innings of work and allowed 10 hits, eight runs (seven earned), walked three, and struck out two.
The Pilots finish the series with the Trojans on Saturday, March 28, with a doubleheader at Gardner Field at 1 p.m. The Bethel Sports Network pregame show with the voice of the Pilots, Paul Condry, at 12:40 p.m.
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