May 4, 2026

No. 1 TU Three-Peats as CLT Champion, Defeats IWU in Winner-Take-All Contest

SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – No. 1 Taylor (49-5) needed every bit of its high-scoring offensive production to add another trophy to the case, holding off rival Indiana Wesleyan 12-11 Monday afternoon at Burbridge Field to claim the Crossroads League Tournament Championship in a winner-take-all rematch of last year's title series.

The victory, which followed a 10-9 loss to IWU earlier in the day to force the deciding game — gave the Trojans their eighth CLT championship under head coach Kyle Gould, the fourth in the last five seasons, and third in a row.

Ben Kennedy helped contribute to the offense in Game 2 with two hits and four RBIs, including a key two-run home run to right-center in the fifth inning. The blast marked his fifth long ball against IWU this season alone and his career-high ninth of the year. The Trojans have now posted 87 home runs in 52 games – good for the second most in program history.

TU jumped on starter Zach Troxel for three runs in the bottom of the first on Brayden Manning's RBI double and Jordan Malott's two-run single, then broke it open in the third when five hits — capped by Brennan Frickel's RBI single, Nate Simpson's RBI single, and Kennedy's two-run knock through the right side — pushed the lead to 7-2.

Manning extended his hitting streak to 12 games and finished the tournament hitting .500 (11-for-22) with 10 RBIs, four doubles and pair of homers. The senior moved into third place on TU's all-time career chart for most doubles (62).

Kennedy's homer made it 9-4 in the fifth, and Frickel's two-run single up the middle in the sixth stretched the cushion to 11-6. The lead looked comfortable for the Trojans. It wasn't.

IWU (34-22) clawed back with two in the seventh on Ben Seitzinger's RBI double and a Nick Wiley groundout, added another in the eighth on Jay Tomes' RBI double, and pulled within 12-11 in the ninth when Trevor Vojtkofsky launched his second two-run homer of the afternoon to left field.

Jake Boyer, summoned with the tying run looming, allowed a single and walk which raised the temperature, but the senior righty struck out the final batter swinging to end it for his fifth save of the year. Reliever Alec Hershberger (2-0) picked up the win after 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, while starter Brody Fine gave TU 3.2 frames in a bounce-back appearance.. Vojtkofsky finished 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBI for IWU, and Snowden added four hits and three RBI in the loss. Manning (3-for-5, 2 RBIs), Malott (3-for-4, 2 RBIs) and Frickel (3 RBIs) all turned in multi-hit days at the plate.

In Game 1, TU's late comeback bid fell one run short Monday morning, as the Trojans dropped the opener of a doubleheader to Indiana Wesleyan 10-9 at Burbridge Field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Wiley's two-run homer to right-center in the top of the ninth — his second long ball of the morning — proved to be the difference for the Wildcats, providing the cushion TU couldn't quite reel in despite scoring three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth.

Down 8-4 entering its half of the eighth, TU mounted its first comeback push behind Rylee Singleton's pinch-hit RBI single up the middle and Fletcher Roemmich's two-run single to left to pull within 8-7. Wiley's blast in the ninth pushed the IWU lead back to three, but the Trojans went right back to work in the bottom half — Roemmich drove in a run with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, and Luke Sutter laced an RBI single to make it 10-9 with the bags still full and one out. The rally ended when Manning lined out to second and Malott flied out to left field. The Trojans stranded 13 runners on the day, a total that loomed large in the ninth, when their biggest opportunity with bases loaded and the winning run aboard slipped away.

Roemmich finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs to pace the Trojans, and Sutter went 2-for-5 with a solo home run to right in the third. It was Sutter's ninth homer of the season while the junior extended his on-base streak to 26 consecutive games.

Starter JT Tabor (8-1) was tagged with the loss after surrendering four earned runs on four hits in 2.0 innings, while Gage Gongwer, Nick Crabtree and Hunter Doran combined for 6.0 innings of three-run relief to keep TU in striking distance. Wiley led IWU with three hits, two homers and four RBIs, and Ben Seitzinger went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for the Wildcats.

TU, already locked into the NAIA postseason after capturing the Crossroads League regular-season title, now awaits the tournament draw for the Upland Opening Round Bracket during the NAIA Selection Show scheduled for 5 p.m. on May 6.