BASEBALL

The #18 Trojans of Taylor remained perfect in league play with a pair of wins over the Forester baseball team, 16-16, 12-11, Monday afternoon at Winterholter Field. The wins also wrap up the 4-0 series sweep over HU considering TU’s two wins on Saturday.

The opener turned into a homerun fest for Taylor (17-4, 8-0). The Trojans wasted little time putting their big bats on display with four of their first six batters going yard to the tune of a 5-0 advantage right out of the gate.

Sam Gladd who homered in the first did so again in the second, this time a two-run blast. It matched the two runs Huntington got back in the top of the second on Deklan Thompson’s solo shot and Zach Pelletier’s RBI-single a few batters later.

The third saw the Foresters find home four times with Pelletier highlighting the frame with a two-run double for his second straight run-scoring base knock. Selby Barton’s walk with bases loaded along with Kade Flores’ sacrifice fly accounted for the guests’ other two runs in the inning.

Taylor still had three more homeruns in them in addition to hammering out a handful of RBI-hits to extend their lead to ten by the seventh which by way of the mercy rule brought an early end to the contest. TU finished with eight homers in the game which resulted in 11 of their 16 runs.

Four Foresters spent time on the mound with starting pitcher RJ Anglin taking the loss. He gave up 11 hits, ten runs and two walks while striking out seven in 3.2 innings of work.

The nightcap proved another hitter’s delight with the Trojans logging 13 hits to HU’s 11. While homeruns weren’t quite as bountiful, there were still plenty that left the park. Gladd was at it again with two blasts with his second of the walk-off variety in the seventh.

It was a race to see which team could score more runs within the allotted seven innings of play. Huntington enjoyed the first advantage with Thompson plating his team’s first run on a Taylor error, their first of six defensive miscues. Beldon Glasgow then clocked one over the right field fence to put HU up 2-0.

Jump ahead to the third where Huntington, holding onto a 2-1 lead, found home five more times with Beyonce Paco Paulina, after tripling in a run, scored on a wild pitch. Frame’s crew capitalized on another TU blunder for two runs with Dylan Rost’s RBI-single up the middle wrapping up HU’s productive inning.

After four innings of play, Taylor had pulled to within two at 7-5 but Glasgow cashed in on his second homer of the day in the top of the fifth to push the difference to three. Unfortunately, the wheels started falling off for the visitors in the sixth. After TU drew back-to-back walks with bases loaded, the hosts posted consecutive two-run singles to climb on top 11-8.

A determined Forester squad went back to work in the seventh. With runners on the corners, pinch hitter Owen Imel came up with a clutch RBI-single to right after which Rost lasered a shot into left for a two-run double to even things up at 11-11 before Gladd stepped up to the plate and did what he had been doing all afternoon which was send one long. It proved his fourth dinger of the day.

Glasgow paced HU offensively by going 3-for-4 at the plate to go along with three runs scored and two RBI. Rost added two hits and three RBI while Paulina added two hits and an RBI. As a team, Huntington finished with two homeruns, both at the bat of Glasgow, to Taylor’s three.

Gabe Hamrick was charged with the loss with the only batter he faced was Gladd in the bottom of the seventh.

The Foresters (7-11, 2-4) host Marian next weekend with a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday.