Taylor savors playoff ‘gift’ before ouster by Westside
Katy Taylor can’t say it was supposed to be here.
After a season of ups and downs, the Mustangs only qualified for the postseason because Katy was forced to forfeit 20 victories for violating the University Interscholastic League’s amateur athletic rule.
But they certainly played like they belonged Saturday at home.
The Mustangs forced extra innings with a run in the fifth inning and battled throughout Game 2 of their Class 6A Region III bi-district playoff series before losing 7-4 to state-ranked Westside in nine innings.
The Wolves (28-2) move on to the area playoffs with a series sweep.
“We start six juniors every game and a sophomore, so we’re a young team, and I let those guys know, ‘Hey, we’ve got an opportunity to come out and (get some experience),’” Taylor coach Matt Glover said. “We kind of got gifted into the playoffs, a little bit, but any way you get in, you have an opportunity to play, and it’s a different experience than you’re ever going to experience in the regular season.” Going down swinging
Taylor tested Westside plenty Saturday afternoon at Cerny Field.
The Mustangs (16-14) took a 2-1 lead in the second inning on run-scoring singles by Brandon Fremin and Matt Stockard and tied it at 3 in the fifth on Brennan Lucas’ RBI double, eventually forcing extra innings.
They kept coming even after the Wolves scored four runs in the top of the ninth to take control.
Daniel Budke hit a solo homer to left off closer Brandt Belk, and Trey Morris, who took the Game 1 loss, singled and stole second with two outs before Belk retired Fremin for the final out.
“This is a tough district out here,” Westside coach Mike Barrow said. “Any team you play out here is tough, and our district was tough this year, too, and it doesn’t get any easier.”
Barrow was happy it got tougher Saturday.
The Wolves rolled to a 10-0 victory in five innings Friday behind pitcher Mitchell Caskey, so Barrow wanted a tight one. They face Langham Creek next week.
Tied at 3, the bottom of the order sparked Westside, with Alex Merrill scoring on a double by No. 9 hitter Chase Miller, and the Wolves scored three more on two errors and a basesloaded walk.
Miller, the starting pitcher who took a no-decision, went 2-for-4 with two doubles, Belk went 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI, and Quincy McAfee went 2-for-2 with two walks and one double. Westside finished with 11 hits.
Belk, despite giving up the homer, earned the win in one inning of relief.
“We’re all swinging the bat right now,” Barrow said. “We’re doing a good job, we’re seeing the ball very well, (and) we’re fortunate to get through the first round, so we’ll see what happens the next round.”
Matt Whelan took the loss, finally running out of gas after 81⁄ innings. He allowed five runs on 11 hits, with four strikeouts and one intentional walk issued on 96 pitches. Invaluable experience
Now Westside moves on, and Taylor heads home with valuable experience in hand.
“We started off real hot in the Katy ISD tournament, and then we rollercoastered the rest of the way through,” Glover said. “At one point in time, we were 4-1 in district, and then we ended up 8-6 with a couple of wins that Katy gave us because of a forfeit, and that’s an unfortunate situation — I hate that for them — but it allowed us to get in, and come out (Saturday) and compete and fight.”