A Memorable 2023 Season Draws to a Close in Lewiston
LEWISTON, Idaho – A memorable 2023 season came to a close on Tuesday afternoon when the No. 19 Taylor baseball team (42-17) dropped an NAIA World Series elimination contest against tournament host RV Lewis-Clark State (36-17) by a final score of 8-3.
Though Taylor scored first with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning of head coach Kyle Gould’s 1,000th-career game, Lewis-Clark punched back with a grand slam in the bottom half of the frame to go up 5-2 after just one inning of play.
For the remainder of the game, Lewis-Clark’s lead held strong as the Trojan lineup struggled to bring baserunners home to score. Taylor managed just one hit with runners in scoring position throughout the game, including an 0-4 mark with the bases loaded.
Lewis-Clark did not fare much better with men on base, only managing two hits with runners in scoring position, though one was the monumental first-inning grand slam that Taylor proved unable to overcome.
That significant four-run swing came just moments after fifth-year senior, TJ Bass, hit his third home run of the NAIA World Series, a moment that etched itself into the annals of Taylor baseball program history.
One night after Bass matched the individual-career hits record with a home run, he established himself as the lone record holder with yet another home run. Throughout his career at Taylor, Bass amassed a total of 276 hits, 64 of which landed over the outfield fence, both of which now exist as Taylor program records for most hits and home runs in an individual career.
Bass also holds the TU record for most walks and RBI recorded in an individual career as his storybook career at Taylor came to a close on Tuesday afternoon in Lewiston.
Even so, it was a year to remember for Bass and the Taylor baseball community, with the Trojans making their first trip to the NAIA Baseball World Series since 1969 and securing two wins along the way.
On the path toward Lewiston, Taylor won its sixth Crossroads League championship since 2010 while winning the most league games in program history. Taylor then went on to host an NAIA Opening Round for the third time in its history before going 3-0 and achieving its first-ever NAIA Opening Round Championship.
By season’s end, Taylor presented perhaps the most potent offensive lineup in program history, as the Trojans established new program records for most team runs, home runs, walks, total bases, and RBI in a single season.
The 2023 Trojans also posted the program’s second-best team slugging percentage and second-most strikeouts as a staff en route to a total of 42 wins, which sits as the second-best win total in program history.
Though the flight home to Upland will taste bittersweet, the No. 19 Taylor Trojans truly did something special in 2023, something for which the TU faithful can only be grateful.