Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Taylor’

Taylor baseball first baseman Ryne Otis (Ossian, Ind./Norwell) has been named the Mid-Central College Conference Player of the week. The MCC weekly award is the first for Otis this season, and the third of the sophomore’s career.

With at least one hit in each of Taylor’s five games, Otis hit .625 and slugged at 1.500 in 16 at-bats. His 11 RBI and nine runs scored accounted for 20 of Taylor’s 42 runs scored during the week. Otis hit home runs in three out of five games last week, including a blast that put Taylor up 4-1 against defending Big Ten champion Indiana in the top of the fifth inning on Saturday.

In a 9-6 victory over Indiana Wesleyan on Friday, Otis recorded an RBI in each of his four at-bats and was just a double shy of the cycle. He drove in both game-winning runs and tallied six total RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Grace (Ind.) during the Trojans’ conference opener on Tuesday.

The first baseman’s glove has also been sharp, as Otis was errorless in 42 chances last week. One of the major driving forces behind Taylor’s 18-4 start and current 13-game win streak against NAIA opponents, Otis leads the Mid-Central College Conference with 25 RBIs.

Taylor University head baseball coach Kyle Gould has announced the signing of Stryker Salyer for the 2010 season.  Salyer, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a catcher in his senior season at Homestead High School. 

A switch-hitter, Salyer was ranked by Prep Baseball Report as the #83 prospect in the state of Indiana. 
He was the starting catcher for Blackhawk Christian High School in Fort Wayne as a freshman, and helped lead the Braves to the 2006 Indiana State Championship.

Salyer has spent his summers competing for the Indiana Bulls and US Athletic, both elite club programs located in Indianapolis.

With current Taylor catcher and back-to-back All-MCC pick Paul Passiales graduating following the 2009 season, coach Gould looks forward to what Salyer will bring to the catcher position for the Trojans.

“Stryker has shown that he has all the tools necessary to be a very good college catcher,” said Gould.  “He is a good athlete who possesses good speed, a quick release, and quick hands at the plate.  He has played against great competition not only during his high school season, but also during the summers with two of the top summer programs in the State.  I look forward to him joining us for the 2010 season.”