Knights of the watch
Taylor brothers boost Greenfield past Grace 5-3
By Jimmy LewisStaff Writer
When runners aren’t aboard the bases, Greenfield School senior right-hander Jake Taylor doesn’t like to dawdle on the mound.
In throwing to his brother and catcher in Luke Taylor, Jake’s first half inning against Sanford Grace Christian took no longer than three minutes Friday night inside Fleming Stadium.
"He works quick,” Greenfield head coach Daniel Johnson said of Jake. "I love that about him. He gets up there, pounds the zone and works fast.”
But despite Jake going on to strike out 14 Grace Christian batters, the outcome crept into uncertainty when the Crusaders plated two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to tie the game.
Thanks to Luke, it didn’t stay that way for long. His sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning plated eighth grader Zeke Ferrell and proved to be the winning run in the Knights’ eventual 5-3 victory.
Greenfield, the defending North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A champion, improved to 2-2 overall. Grace Christian of the 1-A Carolina Christian Conference dropped to 1-3. Each team trotted out dominant green uniforms for the contest, creating a potential identification nightmare for spectators.
Yet Jake Taylor had no such issues identifying the strike zone in not allowing a single walk. Johnson estimated only 86 pitches were required to author a complete-game nine-hitter.
"That’s what Jake does,” Johnson said. "He throws strikes and challenges you to make contact. He’s just going to throw the ball over the plate, he’s not going to walk you. And 14 strikeouts? Wow! I didn’t know he had that many,”
Greenfield, which matched Grace’s nine-hit output in the absence of injured eighth grader Hunter Stokely, appeared as if it would give Jake Taylor all the run support he would need early on. The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Jake, who had two hits along with a double, singled with one out and stole second. He moved up to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by freshman Gabe Torres.
Two more runs came across for Greenfield in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back doubles by Jake and Luke Taylor staked the Knights to a 2-0 cushion, and Torres poked a run-scoring single into left to plate Luke.
Yet in the middle innings, the Knights had to overcome a bit of adversity after Grace starter Dean Carver was forced out of the game while reaching on an error in the fourth. His stumble on the first-base bag brought in Colby Bussey from center field, who initially confounded Greenfield with a extreme dose of off-speed pitching.
Jake Taylor worked around two errors in the fourth to record a trio of strikeouts, but the Crusaders used four hits to get a pair of runs back in the fifth. In the sixth, Chase McKay singled, moved to second on a groundout and trotted up to third on Ethan Spivey’s single. Michael Shoemake’s fielder’s choice plated McKay to tie it.
"We got out in front,” Johnson reviewed of Bussey’s deliveries. "A lot of times, it’s hard when that guy is throwing slow like that.”
A pair of unearned runs put Greenfield over the top in the sixth. Ferrell reached on an error and junior Cedric Kirby singled. A ball off the bat of Jake Taylor fell out of the glove of a charging Spivey in center field to load the bases.
That’s when Luke Taylor stepped in, hitting a shallow pop fly into right field that shortstop Nathan Holt ranged over to grab on the run. But the difficulty of the catch was enough for Ferrell to tag, and the subsequent overthrow to home plate plated Kirby to cap the scoring.
Jake Taylor finished it in the top of the seventh, working around a two-out single with three strikeouts to end it.
"We played well,” Jake said. "We’re still young, just still trying to learn how to play baseball. We don’t have a lot of experience, so we’re just trying to get better every day.”
Kirby, Jake Taylor and Luke Taylor all had two hits for Greenfield. Bussey got the loss in relief for the Crusaders, allowing three hits. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.
Greenfield plays in the Wilson Tobs Varsity Classic on Saturday, facing Wilson Christian at 4 p.m. back at Fleming.
Taylor brothers boost Greenfield past Grace 5-3
By Jimmy LewisStaff Writer
When runners aren’t aboard the bases, Greenfield School senior right-hander Jake Taylor doesn’t like to dawdle on the mound.
In throwing to his brother and catcher in Luke Taylor, Jake’s first half inning against Sanford Grace Christian took no longer than three minutes Friday night inside Fleming Stadium.
"He works quick,” Greenfield head coach Daniel Johnson said of Jake. "I love that about him. He gets up there, pounds the zone and works fast.”
But despite Jake going on to strike out 14 Grace Christian batters, the outcome crept into uncertainty when the Crusaders plated two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to tie the game.
Thanks to Luke, it didn’t stay that way for long. His sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning plated eighth grader Zeke Ferrell and proved to be the winning run in the Knights’ eventual 5-3 victory.
Greenfield, the defending North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A champion, improved to 2-2 overall. Grace Christian of the 1-A Carolina Christian Conference dropped to 1-3. Each team trotted out dominant green uniforms for the contest, creating a potential identification nightmare for spectators.
Yet Jake Taylor had no such issues identifying the strike zone in not allowing a single walk. Johnson estimated only 86 pitches were required to author a complete-game nine-hitter.
"That’s what Jake does,” Johnson said. "He throws strikes and challenges you to make contact. He’s just going to throw the ball over the plate, he’s not going to walk you. And 14 strikeouts? Wow! I didn’t know he had that many,”
Greenfield, which matched Grace’s nine-hit output in the absence of injured eighth grader Hunter Stokely, appeared as if it would give Jake Taylor all the run support he would need early on. The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Jake, who had two hits along with a double, singled with one out and stole second. He moved up to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by freshman Gabe Torres.
Two more runs came across for Greenfield in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back doubles by Jake and Luke Taylor staked the Knights to a 2-0 cushion, and Torres poked a run-scoring single into left to plate Luke.
Yet in the middle innings, the Knights had to overcome a bit of adversity after Grace starter Dean Carver was forced out of the game while reaching on an error in the fourth. His stumble on the first-base bag brought in Colby Bussey from center field, who initially confounded Greenfield with a extreme dose of off-speed pitching.
Jake Taylor worked around two errors in the fourth to record a trio of strikeouts, but the Crusaders used four hits to get a pair of runs back in the fifth. In the sixth, Chase McKay singled, moved to second on a groundout and trotted up to third on Ethan Spivey’s single. Michael Shoemake’s fielder’s choice plated McKay to tie it.
"We got out in front,” Johnson reviewed of Bussey’s deliveries. "A lot of times, it’s hard when that guy is throwing slow like that.”
A pair of unearned runs put Greenfield over the top in the sixth. Ferrell reached on an error and junior Cedric Kirby singled. A ball off the bat of Jake Taylor fell out of the glove of a charging Spivey in center field to load the bases.
That’s when Luke Taylor stepped in, hitting a shallow pop fly into right field that shortstop Nathan Holt ranged over to grab on the run. But the difficulty of the catch was enough for Ferrell to tag, and the subsequent overthrow to home plate plated Kirby to cap the scoring.
Jake Taylor finished it in the top of the seventh, working around a two-out single with three strikeouts to end it.
"We played well,” Jake said. "We’re still young, just still trying to learn how to play baseball. We don’t have a lot of experience, so we’re just trying to get better every day.”
Kirby, Jake Taylor and Luke Taylor all had two hits for Greenfield. Bussey got the loss in relief for the Crusaders, allowing three hits. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.
Greenfield plays in the Wilson Tobs Varsity Classic on Saturday, facing Wilson Christian at 4 p.m. back at Fleming.
