If Taft was feeling good off their 9-3 takedown of Von Steuben last Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Taft Eagles fell just short of the Niles Notre Dame Dons by a score of 11-9 on Tuesday. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Taft in their matchups with Niles Notre Dame: they've now lost four in a row.
Taft got a good showing from Wes Blitz, who pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits.
On the hitting side, Evan Jocic and Justin Butcher stepped up to the plate in a big way. Jocic went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and a triple, while Butcher went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jacob Younan, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with a double and an RBI.
On Niles Notre Dame's side, Nick Agron looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits.
At the plate, Max Santana and Dominic Holton did most of the damage at the plate: Santana went 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI, while Holton scored a run while getting on base in four of his six plate appearances. Leo Connolly was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Taft's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-8. As for Niles Notre Dame, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.
Taft will head out on the road to square off against Von Steuben at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Taft is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season. As for Niles Notre Dame, they will be playing at home against Lane Tech at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
