With Weber up 2-0 in the 4th inning and Warriors’ pitcher Bode Larson in complete control of the game — in the middle of a no hitter — it seemed likely that Weber was going to easily take Game 1 against Taylorsville in their best-of-three playoff matchup.
After struggling to connect on Larson’s pitches the first couple times through the batting order, however, the Taylorsville batters started attacking the pitches at the plate and their bats eventually came alive. Taylorsville scored four runs in the 4th inning and three runs in the 5th inning, eventually pulling away and taking Game 1 by a score of 9-3.
“The first time through the order we were a little hesitant. Not a lot of pitchers have that downward angle of their fastball like Weber’s pitcher does,” Taylorsville head coach Jentry Beckstead said. “It just took them a minute to get used to it but in the 3rd and 4th inning we started getting more aggressive and putting the ball in play.”
Weber got on the scoreboard first in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Jaxson Coleman that would bring in Jace Redd from third base.
Weber doubled their lead the following inning. After getting hit by a pitch, Bennett Jensen scored on a Ashton Burnett RBI triple.
After puzzling the Taylorsville batters the first couple times through the lineup, Larson ran into some trouble and lost command of his pitches.
The Taylorsville batters became more aggressive, attacked more of the pitches and it showed. Taylorsville cut the lead to one on a line drive RBI single by Luke Johnson.
Taylorsville pitcher Justin Morgan immediately followed that up at the plate with an RBI triple to tie the game at 2. Taylorsville would go on to add two more runs later in the inning, making it 4-2 heading into the latter part of the game.
Weber would get a run back the following inning with a towering homerun to left by Jensen.
Taylorsville added five more runs in the fifth inning, scoring on a Weber error and getting RBI’s from Morgan and James Gavin, effectively putting the game out of reach.
“I just told the kids after the game that we have to keep that momentum in our favor. We have to keep our foot on the gas and keep putting the pressure on them early,” Beckstead said.
Taylorsville ended up having several players contribute at the plate. Beckstead had a standout game, going 2-3 with 2 RBI’s and 2 doubles. Luke Johnson with 1-2 with an RBI and James Gavin went 2-3 with with 2 RBI’s.
Taylorsville pitcher Justin Morgan had a solid all-around game, both on the mound and at the plate. Morgan pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits, walking none and striking out 7. At the plate Morgan was just as effective, going 2-3 with 3 RBI’s and 2 triples.
“Our pitcher Justin has been a work horse all year long,” Beckstead said. “He’s one of those kids that can and will compete with anybody. He throws all of his pitches for strikes and locates them well.”