After taking a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning before their second game with Benedictine was suspended last Wednesday, the Trojans gave up five runs in the final 4.2 frames when the contest was resumed on Monday evening, falling by a score of 5-4 in extra innings.
On Wednesday, Taylor dominated the contest, scoring four runs on two hits in the first three innings. On Monday, the Trojans were blanked on the scoreboard, recording just two knocks.
Cassy Lewis collected two of Taylor’s four hits, while Emma West finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and a run batted in. Erin Cozad added a run and an RBI, while Maddi Evans posted a hit and a run scored in five total at-bats.
Cozad opened the scoring for TU in the second inning, stealing home on a Benedictine wild pitch.
In the next frame, Taylor plated three more runs to increase its advantage to four. Evans began the rally with a double, advancing to third in the process, and West followed with an RBI single. Cozad scored West on an RBI fielder’s choice three batters later, and Kanai crossed home plate on a bases loaded walk to Whitman.
Once the game recommenced, Benedictine took control. The Redhawks scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut Taylor’s lead in half, and notched the game-tying tallies with two outs in the last half of the seventh, sending the contest to extra innings.
Taylor had a chance to regain the lead in the top of the eighth. With the international tie-breaker rule in effect, Caitlyn Grim started at second base and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Whitman. After a Lewis single, however, back-to-back groundouts ended the TU threat.
Benedictine walked off shortly after, winning the game on a pinch-hit RBI double.
Taylor (2-2) will be back in action on Wednesday, where they will conclude its season series with Benedictine (1-1) beginning at 8 pm.
