MIDLOTHIAN —
It’s not how you start, but how you finish.
That old saying can be applied to Cleburne’s Ty Taylor on Wednesday night after he allowed back-to-back base hits to start the game, and saw Midlothian (9-8, 1-1 in 16-4A play) take a quick 1-0 lead.
After a meeting with head coach and father Ross Taylor, Ty locked in to strike out 14 Midlothian batters and scattered two hits over the remainder of the game as Cleburne (12-6, 1-1 in 16-4A play) rallied for a 4-1 road victory.
“I didn’t say much,” Ross Taylor said. “I just said, ‘Look, you’re kind of throwing it up there and not with a purpose.’
“I think he did a great job with 14 strikeouts. That’s a pretty good team, a perennial playoff contender and it’s a huge win for us on the road.”
Cleburne’s offense got going in the third inning after Cooper Walls was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame.
Hector Juarez followed with a double, and Taylor drew a walk to load the bases with no outs for Cleburne.
A balk brought Walls in to tie the game for Cleburne, and Tanner Marshall was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Max Reynolds.
Reynolds hit a line drive to Midlothian’s Devin Rodgers who immediately tagged first to give the Panthers a double play.
Dustin Torres stepped up with a single that brought in Juarez and Taylor to make it 3-1 for Cleburne.
“It’s huge,” Taylor said of the third inning for Cleburne. “We’ve got to clutch up more often. We left people on base, too. That’s what you need to have if you’re going to make a run in the playoffs is people stepping up.
“Their pitching was all right, [Blaine Blackburne] had a great curve ball.”
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Midlothian threatened after Rodgers led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Sterling Gravens.
Cody Cane hit a grounder to Cleburne’s Connor Martyniuk who made a diving stop, and looked home to hold Rodgers at third before throwing Cane at first for the second out of the inning.
“Martyniuk’s play was huge when we had the infield pulled in,” Taylor said. “If they score there, it’s a totally different ball game.
“If [Rodgers] scores there, it’s 3-2 and we’re sweating. When you’re on the road, you want to have a cushion because you don’t know what’s going to happen if you’re just a run ahead. I’m proud that we kept that and we worked our way out of a few situations.”
Taylor struck out five of the last six Midlothian batters to end the game.
