The Taylor High School varsity baseball team split its first 4A-District 22 games as the Ducks hosted Manor New Tech High School and Caldwell High School.
TAYLOR DUCKS 6, NEW TECH TITANS 0
The Ducks handled business in the district opener March 19 as Taylor got strong pitching from senior standout Chris Perez en route to a 6-0 shutout victory over New Tech.
Perez was dominant on the mound as he stuck out 16 Titan batters, issued just two walks and only allowed one unearned run to score. Fellow Taylor senior Aiden Aguero kept New Tech off the board as he pitched the seventh inning with two strikeouts.
Ducks senior Dominick Hartman had an RBI double that scored junior Trey Stromberg, while Perez was 2-for-2 at the plate. The duo of senior Deacon Stokes and junior Nick Treuter also had base hits in the win over New Tech, while senior Jackson Meller and junior Xavier Juarez scored runs for the Ducks.
CALDWELL HORNETS 10, TAYLOR DUCKS 7
Despite an 8-0 deficit to Caldwell in the fourth inning, the Ducks made this game interesting late but the inspired rally came up three runs short in a 10-7 loss to the visiting Hornets.
Trailing 10-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Taylor was able to take advantage of some erratic pitching by Caldwell. After a basesloaded walk drawn by Taylor senior Braylan Alderete, the Ducks got additional runs on three straight batters hit by pitches to get within 10-7.
Ducks junior Mario Aguero led the way on offense for Taylor with two hits and two runs batted in, while Juarez drove in two RBI of his own. Alderete, Aiden Aguero and senior Jordan Pickerill had one RBI each in the loss to Caldwell.
Taylor (9-7-2 overall, 1-1 in district), under Head Coach Kale McQuillen, is scheduled to continue district play Thursday, March 28 at 7 p.m. in a road rematch with Caldwell.
