BASEBALL

Despite a promising start, the 6th-seeded Huntington University baseball team dropped its first game of the Crossroads League Tournament in a tough 16-4 loss to top-seeded Taylor University on Thursday afternoon at IWU’s Crandall Family Field. The game ended after seven innings due to the mercy rule.

Coach Thad Frame’s squad jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning, sparked by Braden Kauffman’s solo home run over the left field fence. HU capitalized on a Taylor error for their second run before Deklan Thompson added an RBI-groundout to cap the inning.

The momentum quickly shifted, however, as the Trojans answered with a five-run outburst in the bottom half of the inning. A home run and a pair of back-to-back doubles fueled the rally and gave Taylor a 5-3 lead after two innings.

While Huntington managed to stay close through the middle innings, scoring again on a Taylor error in the sixth, things unraveled in the bottom of that same frame. The Trojans erupted for nine runs, torching three Forester pitchers and racking up seven of their 18 total hits along with five walks in the inning to put the game well out of reach.

HU starter Tyler Papenbrock took the loss, pitching five innings and surrendering 11 hits, seven runs, six earned, and three walks while striking out seven.

Kauffman stood out at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI to account for a majority of Huntington’s offense.

Sitting at 25-25, the Foresters look to bounce back in an elimination game against 5th-seeded Marian on Friday at 11:00 a.m.