Taft pulls away in middle innings to beat Reedley 9-3

Taft broke open a close game with a three-run fifth inning and a four-run sixth, pulling away for a 9-3 win over Reedley on Tuesday at Tiger Field in Reedley. After scoring single runs in each of the first two innings, the Cougars turned a two-run lead into a comfortable margin behind timely extra-base hits and a steady start from Andrew Suitor.

The decisive stretch came in the fifth. Gaku Yamamoto brought home Zaden Kekoa D. Sibal on a fielder's choice, then Edel Guemarez followed with a two-run triple that scored Yamamoto and Landon Angelo for a 5-0 advantage. Taft added four more runs in the sixth, starting with Angelo's RBI single that scored William Glover. Eian Peralta then drove in two more with a triple, and Guemarez capped the inning with another RBI single to score Peralta and make it 9-1.

Guemarez led Taft's offense by going 3-for-5 with a triple and four RBIs. Angelo also finished 3-for-5 and scored three runs, helping set the table throughout the afternoon. Peralta added a triple and two RBIs as Taft collected 13 hits, including two triples, and finished with nine RBIs in 37 at-bats.

Taft got on the board in the first when Guemarez singled home Angelo for a 1-0 lead. In the second, William Glover lifted a sacrifice fly that brought in Carson Rodart to make it 2-0. Those early runs gave Suitor room to work, and the right-hander delivered five innings to earn the win. He allowed six hits, struck out four, walked one and threw 77 pitches.

Reedley finished with nine hits and put traffic on the bases throughout the game, leaving 11 runners on. Ayden Oliveras drove in Ricky Simental with a single in the fifth for the Tigers' first run. Auston Sharp added a sacrifice fly in the sixth to score Tyler Tuckness, and Preston Gaeta singled home Simental in the seventh for the final margin. Reece Van Alen took the loss for Reedley after the Cougars scored multiple early runs and then surged in the middle innings.