(Georgetown) — Cole Zimmer drove in four runs and Landun Taylor stepped up to rescue a depleted pitching staff as the Navarro Panthers took down Sealy 7-2 on Monday in game three of the UIL Class 4A Region IV Area round baseball playoffs at Georgetown East View High School to move on to the regional quarterfinals.
With a 3-1 lead in the top of the 4th inning, Navarro senior Zimmer stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and drove a double down the left field line to score Carlos Contreras, Taylor and Marco Moncada and give the Panthers a 6-1 cushion. In the 7th, Zimmer would again come to the plate with the bases loaded and would draw a walk to give Navarro an insurance run.
Taylor, a junior making just his 5th appearance on the hill this season, was masterful for the Panthers. After getting touched up for a run in the bottom of the first, the right-hander would send down eleven straight Tigers before issuing a one-out walk in the bottom of the 5th.
Taylor would pitch five and two-third innings allowing just two runs and three hits while fanning seven. Navarro head coach Kris Cavazos called on Taylor to make the start after Bryce Nall, Blaine Pircher and Caleb Thomas all logged at least five innings in the first game of the series and an 11-inning game two.
“He did a great job. We talked about throwing strikes the whole time and pounding the zone.” Cavazos said of Taylor. “We let our defense work like they have all series. We just wanted it more than they did today and I think we played as a team and they didn’t. And you could see that in the outcome.”
In the bottom of the six, Carlos Contreras would relive Taylor with two on and two out. The senior would strike out Sealy catcher Dylan Aguado to end the Tiger threat. Starting at 1st base, Contreras went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI.
The victory by Navarro ended the series which was spread over five days thanks to a rain-out of game three on Saturday. With the 2-1 series win, the Panthers move on to take on Boerne in the regional quarterfinals. The Greyhounds were the champions of District 27-4A and are ranked 5th in the latest Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 4A poll.
The playoff between Navarro and Boerne will start later this week.