Boca Raton Christian Rallies to Win Third In A Row

Freshman Ryan Taylor of Boca Raton Christian struck out 11 in a sterling relief performance.

Ryan Taylor’s second relief appearance was a memorable one.

The freshman right-hander was forced into action earlier than expected but responded with 11 strikeouts in five and one-third innings as Boca Raton Christian rallied past Berean Christian 9-5 in a non-district game Thursday at Lake Lytal Park in West Palm Beach. It was the Blazers’ third consecutive victory.

“I wanted to give him a shot,” Boca Raton Christian coach Clint Erickson said. “He hasn’t had a lot of time on the mound, but he’s got a lot of talent. He really put some good torque on the ball. He’s got good control and a nice slider, so it worked out well for him.”

Taylor entered the game with two outs in the second inning, a runner on second and his team trailing 3-0, but he struck out Max Morales to end the threat. Taylor then struck out six of the next 10 batters, allowing only a double to opposing starter Zach Watson until the sixth.

Then Berean Christian (2-2) rallied against a tiring Tayor, scoring twice without the benefit of a hit to cut the margin to 7-5. Watson walked to open the sixth. Josh Stephens’ slow roller allowed Watson to beat the throw to second and the relay to first bounced in the dirt to the fence, allowing both runners to move to second and third. After a strikeout, Randy Stanford’s sacrifice fly to center scored Watson and Stephens scored on an error.

Taylor, who had previously only pitched one inning this season, regained his composure and struck out three of the final four batters to end the game.

“He’s going to be strong as he moves through high school,” Erickson said. “He’s got a bright future.”

Erickson said he put Taylor in early because Boca Raton Christian (3-3) came out flat.

“I felt we needed to mix something up,” Erickson said. “Nothing against (starter) Blaize (McSweeney). I just had to do something, so I pulled him out and put Ryan on the mound and tried to wake the guys up a little bit, talk to them and we rallied back.”

Berean Christian head coach Marty Gonzalez was also impressed with Taylor’s performance.

“It seemed as the game went on, he got better, he got more comfortable,” Gonzalez said.

Tommy Havelka, R.J. Walsh and Clay Patten had two hits apiece for Boca Raton Christian.

Gonzalez took several positives from the game, including a successful pickoff at third base in the seventh inning.

“Regardless of the talent level, regardless of where we’re at, even if we’re down, they keep battling, they never give up,” Gonzalez said. “It’s coming around. It’s a work in progress. We’re taking baby steps towards that direction. In the long run, we’ll be all right.”

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