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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Tripp Mahaney behind the dish at catcher Tuesday, April 22 against the Glen Rose Tigers. Head coach Allen McGee praised Mahaney and Ryder Taylor’s relationship as part of why they are such a dynamic duo. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mike Garcia aboard at second base after reaching on a base hit. Garcia has been a consistent leader for the Steers all season. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Ryder Taylor up at the plate Tuesday, April 22 against the Glen Rose Tigers. Taylor struck with the first big moment offensively when he hit a leadoff homer in the top of the fifth to give the Steers a 3-0 lead. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Ryder Taylor up on the mound in the bottom of the first Tuesday, April 22 against the Glen Rose Tigers. Taylor proved to be a major impact on the Steers win both on the mound and behind the plate offensively. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Bruin Wright in center field after catching a flyout Tuesday, April 22 against the Glen Rose Tigers. Wright was critical defensively in this game making several key outs in the outfield.
The Steers picked up a huge win Tuesday for their playoff push in Glen Rose. The Steers dominated the Tigers 6-0 in a holistic display of effectiveness.
Ryder Taylor and Tripp Mahaney took their positions in the field in the bottom of the first and showed dominance throughout the entire contest.
Taylor pitched a complete game shutout and head coach Allen McGee spoke after the game about the relationship between Taylor and Mahaney.
“Tripp does a fantastic job back there calling pitches,” McGee said. “Ryder and Tripp have a really good rapport together. They see the game well, and when he executes his pitches like he has, he’s tough to square up.”
Center fielder Bruin Wright also made an impact defensively in the bottom of the first. He made two big flyout catches in center to lead to a smooth bottom of the first inning with no runs scored.
The Steers kept the momentum going offensively in the top of the second. Ty Thompson hit a single to right center field and Wright followed that with a sac bunt to get Thompson into scoring position.
Colter Johnson beat out an infield single and Mason Milton hit an RBI single to left center field scoring Thompson. Johnson also scored later in the inning and Graham put themselves in the driver seat with a 2-0 lead.
The top of the fifth is where the Steers really started to run away with the game. Taylor added to his impact at the plate by hitting a leadoff home run to give the Steers a 3-0 lead.
Harison Brockway and Mike Garcia got aboard after Taylor making Tanner Hurford the next batter to strike. Hurford made soft contact back to the pitcher which allowed Brockway to score from third on a safety squeeze.
Thompson followed up on this strategy to score Garcia as well. This was a piece of the game that McGee said was pivotal to the win.
“People are going to see the home runs, but I just got done telling them what broke them was the small ball,” McGee said. “They even knew it was coming. It’s a tough play to defend if you execute it right.”
The final run of the game came in the top of the seventh when Mahaney followed up his pitching partner’s homer with a solo homer to left of his own to hit the final 6-0 score.
After traveling to Glen Rose for the first game of the series, the Steers came back home to Graham for their final game of the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday, April 25.
