Taylor Outlasts Saint Francis in Postseason Play
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 2 |
|
Taylor (IN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | X | 9 | 11 | 1 |
UPLAND, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) baseball team took on no. 1 seed Taylor University in the Crossroads League Tournament on Saturday, May 4, 2024. After a long back and forth game the Cougars fell short 9-8.
Luke Siren did well as the starter to give his offense a chance in this one. USF jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning from a Sam Pesa sacrifice fly. Taylor responded in the bottom half of the 1st and 2nd to make it 2-1. In the third, Nick Parsons had a sacrifice fly and Ayden Lichtensteiger had an RBI single to give USF the lead 3-2. In the 5th inning, a two-run double from Pesa, RBI single from Parsons, and two-run homerun from Eli Riley gave the Cougs a 7-2 lead. But Taylor would not lay down as they had a four-run inning of their own in the 6th to make it 7-6. Brenden Lytle had an RBI single to extend Saint Francis's lead to 8-6, but a two-run homerun and a sacrifice fly from Taylor gave them a late 9-8 lead. The Cougars were unable to rally as the Trojans came away with the win.
There were many key contributors for the Cougars. Parsons went 2-2 at the plate with two RBIs and a walk. Riley had a two-run homerun and a walk. Lichtensteiger collected three hits and an RBI. Pesa had a double and two RBIs. Jayden Lepper had two hits and scored twice.
The Cougars are now 36-16 overall. USF will play against Marian University on Monday, April 6 at 3:00 PM est. The winner of this game will receive an automatic bid to the national tournament and advance to face no. 1 Taylor University in the championship game at 6:00 PM est.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
- Sam Pesa -
