Trojan Baseball Sweeps No. 21 Berry
March 23, 2009
The Taylor baseball team opened their Spring Break road trip through Georgia on Monday with a doubleheader sweep of No. 21 Berry College. The Trojans took down the Vikings by scores of 11-5 and 4-3, just one week after Berry swept the second-ranked team in the nation in a doubleheader.
Taylor Kinzer picked up the victory in game one after throwing 5 2/3 innings. Junior Michael Kraynak took the mound in relief and recorded his fifth save of the season.
Michael Nassar led the offense for the Trojans with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate, tying his season high for hits and RBIs (2). Ryne Otis added a double and an RBI for a 2-for-3 appearance. The Trojan batters combined for 12 hits and 11 RBIs.
Zach Vander Laan pitched a complete-game victory in game two, giving up just three runs on six hits and recording six strike outs. Vander Laan, the team's ERA leader at 3.07 per game, improved his record to a perfect 5-0.
Only three Trojan batters recorded a hit in the game, but when Taylor took the base paths they were aggressive. They stole six bases in game two, and 10 on the day in 11 attempts. Junior Nate Hillery led the charge with four total stolen bases, which pushes his team-leading season total to nine.
Taylor (14-6) will return to Rome, Georgia, for their final game with Berry (21-7) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Click here to follow the game via live stats.