GEORGETOWN — The Taylor Ducks varsity baseball team defeated Gateway Preparatory, 3-2, on Friday, April 11, to complete a district series sweep.
Taylor scored all three of its runs in the top of the fourth inning and held on the rest of the way to secure the win.
Both teams were quiet offensively early on, with neither recording a hit until the bottom of the second. Gateway broke through with a leadoff single, but Taylor retired the next three batters to keep the Gators off the board.
Gateway threatened again in the third after a two-out double, but junior Noah Flores ended the inning by securing a pop-up in foul territory.
The Ducks put pressure on Gateway again in the top of the fourth. Xavier Juarez led off with a single after a hitby- pitch put a runner on, giving Taylor runners at first and second with no outs. Freshman Tayden Talley and Trey Stromberg each delivered RBI singles to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead. A groundout brought home another run to extend the lead to 3-0.
Gateway responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, scoring on an error and an RBI single to trim the deficit to 3-2.
Talley got the start on the mound for Taylor, pitching six strong innings. He allowed two runs and struck out five. He closed out his outing by escaping a two-on, two-out jam in the sixth with a flyout to end the threat.
Senior Mario Aguero earned the save, closing out the final inning.
With the win, the Ducks improved to 5-101 overall and 3-5 in district play, sitting just one game behind Burnet for the final playoff spot.
Taylor faced Marble Falls on Tuesday, April 15, and will host the Mustangs on Thursday, April 17, at 7 p.m.
