By Austin Kight | Echo
The Trojans ended the regular season on a high note this weekend, clinching their fourth-straight conference championship by sweeping Grace College in a four-game series.
On Friday afternoon, junior Austin York got the bats going for the Trojans in the second inning with a long-ball to left field giving Taylor an early lead. Freshman Danny Moorehead added to the lead in the third with an RBI single up the middle that brought senior Derek Kinzer around to score to put the Trojans up 2-0.
The Lancers came out strong in the fourth with a run before adding three more in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead heading into the top of the sixth.
However, lead off back-to-back doubles by juniors Jordan Coffey and York started a late game rally that helped push the Trojans past the Lancers.
Later in the sixth an RBI single off the bat of senior Taylor Luna and a sacrifice fly from Keizer would cap the scoring at 5-4.
Veteran Ryan Baker had another outstanding performance on the mound for the Trojans, picking up seven strikeouts and allowing no earned runs in his 4.2 innings of work.
Game two was marked with a strong offensive performance by both teams but the Trojans held off the Lancer to pick up a 10-9 victory.
The offence for Taylor was lead by Coffey and York each with a homerun that added to their three RBIs on the night.
Freshman Brian Moore went 3-for-5 scoring two runs and an RBI single to help contribute to the Trojans win and expand their winning streak to nine-straight games.
Ace Josh DeGraaf picked up his seventh win for Taylor allowing only two runs on five hits in five innings. Head coach Kyle Gould summoned junior Caleb Miller to the mound to close out the game. Miller retired four of the final five hitters picking up his seventh save of the season.
It was a similar story for the Trojans on Saturday afternoon, finishing the four-game sweep of the Lancers with 7-1 and 15-6 victories.
Senior Taylor Luna (7-2) went the distance for the Trojans on the mound in game one striking out five and allowing only one run off of six hits.
Grace took an early 1-0 lead through the second before Taylor bounced back with a big third inning staring with an RBI single down the left field line, scoring freshman Kevin Fahy and Kinzer.
The Trojans went on to score one in the forth, fifth and two in the sixth to cap the scoring at 7-1.
In the nightcap, Taylor jumped out to an early lead putting up four in the second with an RBI fielders choice off the bat of Moore. A few batters later, freshman Daimon Buck pounded an RBI single threw the right side of the infield.
Heading into sixth, the Trojans had a commanding 9-4 lead before splitting the game wide open with a sixth inning six run rally to claim a 15-6 victory.
Taylor concludes their 2013 regular season 30-12 overall and 25-3 in the Crossroads League, winning the regular season conference championship by four games.
Up next, the Trojans will get ready to host the 2013 Crossroads League Tournament on May 1 through May 4, with the first pitch of the tournament set for 10 am on Wednesday. In their first game, the Trojans will face the No. 8 seed to kick things off.
