Trojans Down No. 10 Keiser on Diamond in Early-Season Upset
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Taylor picked up a win over a 2017 NAIA World Series participant on Tuesday, as the Trojans put five runs on the board in the first inning and took an 8-4 win over No. 10 Keiser.
Taylor wasted no time taking control of the game, as seven-straight hitters reached base safely after the first out of the game was recorded. The rally included an error, an interference call, a walk and singles from Nathan Targgart, Wyatt Whitman, Sam Wiese and Christian McGill and resulted in a 5-0 cushion.
The Trojans tacked on a run in the fourth when Tanner Watson singled with two outs and scored on a single from Targgart and a fielding error. After Keiser (0-1) struck for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, TU came right back with a run-scoring single from Targgart and an RBI from Whitman to push the spread to 8-2.
The Seahawks picked up single tallies in the eighth and ninth frames but never seriously threatened the Trojan lead, as Taylor used eight different pitchers to complete the upset.
Clay Riggins (1-0) opened the game and tossed two scoreless frames to receive the win and was followed to the bump by Drake Gongwer, Trevor Booth, Rob Fox, Mitch Ubelhor, Brenden Bube, Brett Lawson and Justin Pettit.
The group racked up eight strikeouts and yielded only three earned runs to the Keiser bats over the nine frames, scattering eight hits. Ubelhor turned in the longest outing of the afternoon, picking up eight outs and fanning three, while allowing only one hit and one walk.
Targgart paced the offense with four of TU’s 12 hits and added a run and an RBI. McGill had the squad’s other multi-hit showing with two singles, while Whitman drove in two and Andrew Kennedy scored one run and knocked in another.
Taylor (2-1) will wrap up its two-week stay in Florida when it plays a three-game series in Jupiter at the Roger Dean Stadium Complex against Ave Maria (0-0) on January 26 and 27. The teams will play a single game on Friday at 2:00 pm and a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.