The Trojans made history over the weekend, defeating St. Francis on Friday than topping Mount Vernon Saturday claiming their first Crossroads League Championship since 2009.
Taylor got off to a rocky start on Friday, after a leadoff homerun from St. Francis's David Yoder gave the Cougars a 1-0 edge that carried into the sixth inning.
Trailing 3-0 heading into the sixth, junior Austin York put the Trojans on the board with an RBI single through the left side of the infield, scoring freshman Danny Moorehead, which closed the gap to 3-1.
With two outs in the eighth, the Trojans strung together three-straight singles before senior Derek Kinzer roped a bases-clearing triple off the right-field wall followed by an RBI double from freshman Brian Moore gave the Trojans a 5-3 lead heading into the ninth.
St. Francis did not go down without a fight, mounting a three-run rally in the top of the ninth, giving them a one run lead over the Trojans.
In the bottom of the ninth, junior Jordan Coffey and York each worked the count drawing walks to put the tying run at second with no outs. With runners in scoring position after a wild pitch, freshman Grant Hendershot sent a long ball over the right field wall pushing Taylor to an 8-6 walk-off victory.
Senior Taylor Luna gave the Trojans 6.1 innings of work, allowing only two earned run off of nine hits while striking out six in the no-decision outing.
On Saturday, the Trojans found themselves in a similar situation with a ninth inning rally propelling them to an 11-10 victory that claimed the Crossroads League Championship.
Up 10-3 heading into the seventh, the Trojans thought the win was a lock but the Cougars proved otherwise, putting up a seven run rally in the seventh, which tied the game at 10-10.
The Trojan's offence was not going to let emotions stand in their way, quickly putting the go ahead run in scoring position before a clutch RBI single off the bat of Moore would prove to be the game winning hit.
Coffey closed the door in the bottom of the inning with outstanding defense from York that helped keep the Cougars scoreless in their final at bats of the game.
Hats and gloves took flight as the Trojans rushed the mound in celebration of their first Crossroads League Championship as a team in four-years.
Taylor (34-12) will take a few days off before play will begin in the NAIA National Tournament on May 9.
Get your copy of the Echo this Friday to get a full tournament recap and a look into the 2013 NAIA National Tournament.
