RV Taylor Holds On for Road Win over Bethel

RV Taylor Holds On for Road Win over Bethel

MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The Trojans (27-12, 7-8 CL) utilized power hitting and solid pitching to land a Crossroads League road win on Tuesday, knocking off Bethel (9-20, 5-11 CL) by a 5-3 margin.

Clay Riggins (6-1) was the story of the first six innings, retiring the first 17 Pilot batters. The senior righty consistently forced weak groundouts, carrying a perfect game into the sixth frame. A blooper single to shallow center ruined the perfect game and no-hit bid, as Riggins offered 6.1 innings with five strikeouts, while allowing one hit and one walk in the winning effort.

Offensively, Josh Lane got it going early with a home run in the opening inning. The long ball was the second for the senior on the year and in his career.

Taylor added to its lead in the fourth and fifth frames, despite only one hit in each inning. A two-run homer from Wyatt Whitman in the seventh helped TU to a 5-0 edge, heading into the seventh-inning stretch.

Bethel also rallied in the seventh, scoring three runs. The host school took advantage of two walks and three hit by pitches to close the gap. Cy Stanley came up big out of the bullpen, grabbing two quick outs with the bases loaded to stop the bleeding.

Mitch Ubelhor logged the final five outs for Taylor, securing the 5-3 victory. With his fifth save of the season, Ubelhor moved into a tie for the most on the team.

Brett Lawson and TJ Bass each boasted a multi-hit effort on Tuesday, as the duo has combined for 13 on the season.

RV TU will return to Winterholter Field in its next contest, facing Marian (18-11, 10-3 CL) on Friday at 5:00 pm.