UPLAND, IN — Grand View University suffered a 13–3 defeat to Taylor University in the first game of the Upland Bracket during the 2025 NAIA Baseball Opening Round at Winterholter Field.
The Vikings initiated the scoring in the top of the first inning. Brock Johnson led off with a double, marking his first at-bat of the game. Erik Broekemeier followed with an RBI single, bringing Johnson home. The inning concluded with a fly out, leaving Grand View with a 1–0 lead.
Taylor University's offense responded promptly in the bottom of the first. The Trojans recorded four singles and a triple, amassing three runs. The Vikings managed to secure three outs, including a strikeout and two defensive plays by Carson Wadel, who made a catch and a quick toss to second base to end the inning. Taylor led 3–1 after the first frame.
In the second inning, Hank Himrich of Grand View hit a solo home run over the right-field fence, narrowing the deficit to 3–2. The Vikings' defense responded effectively, closing the inning with three quick outs, highlighted by a notable catch by Broekemeier against the first-base dugout fence.
The third inning concluded swiftly, with Kaleb Krier of Grand View on the mound. However, in the fourth inning, Taylor's offense surged, scoring three runs on three hits. Grand View replaced Krier with Kaden Stewart in the fifth inning, who was subsequently relieved by Alex Foster, who closed the inning. Despite their efforts, the Vikings allowed five runs on five hits, increasing the deficit to 11–2.
Grand View managed to score one run in the bottom of the sixth. Himrich recorded an RBI single, sending Evan Borst home, narrowing the gap to 11–3. Taylor responded in the bottom of the seventh inning with two additional runs, concluding the game at 13–3. Grand View finished with three runs on nine hits with 2 errors.
UP NEXT
Grand View will play the No. 2 seed Bellevue University tomorrow, May 13th, at 11:00 AM CST. The winner of tomorrow's game will play either Taylor University or Kansas Wesleyan University on Wednesday.
