Baseball: Win No. 34 Breaks School Record
May 04, 2009
The Taylor University baseball team defeated Marian College, 8-2, in the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament on Monday to set a new school record with 34 wins this season. Earlier in the day, Taylor fell to Bethel by the final score of 4-2 in the double elimination tournament.
The Trojans now move on to face Bethel for the second time in as many days.
Taylor improved their record to 34-17 Monday, bettering the previous school record for wins set by the 2006 team that finished 33-22 after winning the MCC Tournament that season.
Head Coach Kyle Gould coached both record-setting teams. "This is a testament to the consistency of this team and how well they've played over the course of the year. They have played hard every single day," said Gould. "There have been a lot of very good teams here over the years, so this is quite an honor."
Game 1
In the first game of the day, Taylor fell 4-2 to the Bethel Pilots in an error-plagued contest. The teams combined for seven errors, four by the Trojans and three by the Pilots.
Taylor crossed the plate first in the seconding inning when Taylor Wilde put the ball in play to force a Bethel error that sent Cassidy Emery home. In the fourth inning Ryne Otis led off with a base hit and then took advantage of a Bethel error to advance to third. Taylor Kinzer scored Otis with a Texas-leaguer base bit to left field and gave the Trojans a 2-0 lead.
The Pilots scored a run in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the score 2-2. In the eighth inning Taylor was able to move leadoff hitter Paul Passiales to third base but eventually stranded the go ahead run 90 feet away.
Bethel loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with just one out and took advantage of three different Trojan pitchers to score two more runs and eventually the win.
Passiales led all batters with a 3-for-4 outing. Despite allowing just three hits, no earned runs and striking out three batters, Chris Howell (2-3) took the loss on the mound.
Game 2
Needing a win to stay alive in the tournament, Taylor scored five runs in the top of the fourth inning against Marian College as the Trojans cruised to win No. 34 of the season by the final margin of 8-2.
A leadoff walk by Ryne Otis turned into a run when Taylor Kinzer doubled to left field after Cassidy Emory sacrificed Otis to second base. Nathan Hillery then walked and Ethan Houts was hit by a pitch, followed up by Taylor Wilde's single that drove in two runs to make it 3-0. Paul Passiales then cleared the bases with his sixth triple of the season to drive in two more runs for the Trojans.
The big fourth inning is all starting pitcher Zach Vander Laan (7-1) would need to register the victory as he pitched seven innings, giving up just five hits and two unearned runs.
Marian scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to close the gap to 5-2. After a scoreless fifth inning, Taylor went on to score a run in each of the next three while holding the Knights scoreless over the last five innings.
First baseman Ryne Otis continued to swing a hot bat with an RBI double in the gap to right center in the top of the seventh. The freshman has now recorded a hit in 26 of his last 27 games.
Passiales was 2-for-4 in the game with 2 RBIs and a walk. Kinzer was the other Trojan with multiple hits as he recorded a single and a double to go along with a run and an RBI.
Taylor will now face Bethel for the second day in a row at 1 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be played at Indiana Wesleyan.