Trojans Cap Florida Trip with Series Win
JUPITER, Fla. – Taylor closed out its six-game Florida trip on Saturday with a doubleheader split against Ave Maria to win the three-game set with the Gyrenes and wrap up a 4-2 stay in the Sunshine State to open the 2018 campaign.
Offense was at a premium in the opener, as Taylor allowed only two hits but fell by a 1-0 margin for the second time of the early season. TU had seven hits but stranded 10 runners on base and allowed one unearned run.
Seven different Trojans had a single in the game, with Brett Lawson walking twice and Jared Adkins, Wyatt Whitman and Kyle Kelsheimer each swiping one bag.
Tucker Waddups (0-1) was the hard-luck loser on the bump for TU, after tossing four hitless frames and fanning four batters in the start. Drake Gongwer followed with four strikeouts over 2.1 innings of scoreless relief and Rob Fox retired the only two batters he faced on strikes.
Taylor struck back in the second game, blanking Ave Maria (1-2) by a 5-0 margin behind Luke Shively and Clay Riggins, who combined to hold AMU to three hits over the seven-inning affair.
Shively (1-0) was sharp in his collegiate debut, allowing only one hit over four innings, before handing the ball over to Riggins for the final three innings. Riggins fanned two and allowed two hits for his first career save.
TU put single runs on the board in the second and sixth innings but used a three-run outburst in the fifth to put the game away. Tanner Watson and Nathan Targgart opened the frame with doubles, before an error, a sac fly off the bat of Christian McGill and a run-scoring single from Lawson put the crooked number up.
Watson closed the game 2-3 with two doubles and two runs, with Targgart going 2-4 with a double and two RBI. Lawson turned in another strong game with two hits and an RBI.
Taylor (4-2) will now return to Upland to prepare for its next trip south via a four-game stop at the Perfect Game Complex in Emerson, Georgia on February 9 and 10.