GOSHEN, Ind. - The #21 Taylor Trojans took the first two games of a four-game series against Goshen on Thursday, winning 15-1 and 11-5.
Jenner Rodammer continued to prove that he is one of the top power hitters in the conference with his 12th home run of the season. He is tied for fourth in the league in that category.
Rodammer's home run came in the bottom of the sixth in game one and was the last run scored. Taylor put up 15 runs and had 11 hits, 13 walks and four batters hit by pitches. Goshen starter
Peyton Smith had the loss, allowing four earned runs in 2.2 innings. In addition to Rodammer,
Joseph Cerda,
Justin Dambruck and
Peyton Smith had hits for the Maple Leafs in game one.
Taylor was up 10-0 when Goshen slowly crept back up in game two. In the bottom of the sixth,
Nate Lange singled through the left side of the infield and stole second base.
Justin Dambruck came up next and singled down the left-field line to score Lange.
The Trojans scored once in the seventh, but the Leafs didn't leave without a fight. Goshen had four runs on three hits in the inning, leaving the bases loaded to end the game. After singles by
Chris Godden and
Jenner Rodammer to start the inning,
Trent Sillett hit an RBI single to right field, scoring one run.
Joseph Cerda walked to load the bases, and
Nate Lange walked in a run during the next at-bat.
Justin Dambruck was hit by a pitch with the bases still loaded to make it 11-4, and the final GC run came when
Peyton Smith walked as the next batter up. The inning ended with two swinging strikeouts.
AJ Lenn had the loss as the starter.
Austin Martin came in relief and allowed one run in 2.2 innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Dambruck went 2-3 with two RBIs for Goshen - his fifth multi-hit game this season. Godden had two hits and scored a run. The Leafs had eight walks as a team, tied for their second-highest total this season.
Taylor secured the outright regular-season Crossroads League championship - their sixth title since 2010.
The teams conclude the series on Friday, with game one starting at 1:00 pm. Goshen seniors
Nate Lange,
Char Reeves and
Gabe Kermode will be recognized before game one.