Austin Kight | Echo
It has proven to be a challenging start to the season for the Taylor University men's baseball team, with six of their first eight games coming against nationally ranked teams. Three of those games came this past weekend as the Trojans split a pair of games with No. 15 Lindsey Wilson and then dropped the final game of the weekend to No. 18 Judson College.
Over the three-game spread, the Trojans struggled offensively, posting a combined 0.330 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) and only four RBIs, while being outscored 19-9.
"The biggest thing right now is to continue to develop the depth of our pitching staff," said head coach Kyle Gould. "We need to give guys opportunities to develop and produce at the level that we know that they can."
Both teams struggled to heat up Friday, as Lindsey Wilson and Taylor were hitless through two innings. Taylor got on the board in the third after back-to-back singles by sophomores Brian Moore and Grant Hendershot put the team up by one.
Lindsey Wilson responded in the fourth with a double to center from designated hitter Jordan Berry followed by a hard-hit single to right field, tying the game at 1-1.
Junior Josh DeGraaf (2-1) took the mound for Taylor and silenced the Blue Raiders' bats, throwing his fourth career complete game and allowing just one run off five hits. Sporting a tidy 2.81 ERA on the season, DeGraaf retired six of the 28 batters he faced, leading the Trojans to the 3-1 victory.
"Everything was working well for me on the mound," DeGraaf said. "I was able to stay competitive and aggressive in the strike zone, which is what we attempt to do every time we step on the mound."
On Saturday, the Trojans fared poorly in their second outing against Lindsey Wilson, trailing 16-0 after five innings. Taylor mounted a late game rally in the seventh that sparked with two on and no outs as Moore laced an RBI doubled down the right field line, scoring freshman Nathan Shelton. The four-run inning was not enough to bridge the 14 run gap, resulting in a 16-6 loss.
"Offensively we were inconsistent and seemed to lack the competitive edge to grind out at-bats and help our team score runs," Moore said. "As the season moves forward I expect to hit our stride offensively, defensively and in pitching. This weekend exposed us to some weaknesses that we will continue to fix as conference rolls around."
The bats quieted down and pitching dominated in the second matchup Saturday against Judson College. Despite an impressive outing from sophomore Eric Kartman (0-2), allowing two hits in six innings of work, the Trojans were unable to give the southpaw any run support, dropping their last game of the weekend 2-0.
Due to weather conditions, the Trojans have postponed their home opener against Indiana Tech (0-1-1), which was originally scheduled for tomorrow. Now, the team will travel to Campbellsville, Ky., to take on the Warriors Friday at 4 p.m. followed by a doubleheader Saturday with first pitch at noon.
Photography by Timothy P. Riethmiller
