The Taylor Ducks varsity baseball team held on for an 8-7 win over Gateway College Preparatory on Tuesday, April 8, in a key district matchup.
Taylor carried an 8-4 lead into the final inning before turning a gameending double play to secure the victory.
Gateway took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a groundout, but Taylor quickly answered. Sophomore Aiden Dimas delivered an RBI single in the bottom half, and senior Kaddy Maravilla drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead.
Taylor retired Gateway in order in the top of the second and extended the lead in the bottom half with an RBI single from senior Triston Vega to make it 3-1. The Ducks added another run in the third on a dropped third strike, pushing the lead to 4-1.
The Gators tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the fourth with backto- back RBI singles. Both teams were held scoreless through the fifth and sixth innings before Taylor broke the stalemate in the bottom of the sixth.
The Ducks regained the lead after walking in a run to go up 5-4. A wild pitch plated another run, and an infield error allowed two more to score, giving Taylor an 8-4 cushion.
Gateway loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh and trimmed the lead to 8-7 with a two-run single. But with the tying run on base, Taylor turned a clutch double play to end the game.
Junior Connor Woods started for Taylor, pitching four innings and allowing four runs with four strikeouts. Maravilla picked up the win in relief, giving up three runs with one strikeout over the final three innings.
With the win, the Ducks improved to 2-5 in district play. They closed out the series on the road against Gateway on Friday, April 11, at 7 p.m.
