Columbus, OH — After being named
the Mid-Central Conference’s 2005 Player of the Year and posting
a 7-1 record on the mound with a 1.82 ERA, Goshen College senior Ben
Taylor could only think of one thing to do with his summer.
Get even better.
To do so, Taylor participated in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate
League (GLSCL), an eight-team compilation of top college players from
the region playing a 45-game schedule from early June to early August.
And, naturally, Taylor led the league in ERA, posting a 0.34 mark in a
closer role while also leading the league in saves with nine. As a result
of his outstanding efforts on the mound, Taylor was selected to play in
the GLSCL All-Star game, giving him a chance to pitch in front of dozens
of major league scouts.
According to Goshen College head coach Josh Keister, Taylor didn’t
disappoint.
“This summer was a great experience for Ben,” Keister said. “To
have the opportunity to play against players from some of the
top programs in the Midwest has given Ben an accurate measuring stick
of where he stacks
up. Hopefully, the success he had will lead to a chance for him
to play professionally, especially if he has a standout senior season
this upcoming
spring.”
If history is any indicator, Taylor is primed to finish his collegiate
career as perhaps the best pitcher in Goshen College history.
In addition to his MCC Player of the Year award this past spring — the
first such award in Leafs’ baseball history — Taylor was also
named the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week (also a Goshen College
first) on
Apr. 20, coming just days after his second career no-hitter.
In that 3-0 win over Spring Arbor University on Apr. 16, Taylor
came just one batter
away from throwing the program’s first perfect game, grazing the
Cougars’ leadoff hitter in the top of the seventh inning as his
only mistake.
Playing for the Columbus All-Americans this summer, Taylor faced
off against some of the best collegiate hitters in the nation’s
heartland. Twenty of Taylor’s 27 teammates were NCAA Division
I players, while the wooden-bat league — the GLSCL is sponsored
and supported by Major League Baseball — gave Taylor a first-hand
look at the logistical differences between collegiate and professional
baseball. Taylor’s
All-American team took home the GLSCL regular-season championship,
posting a 30-12 record. Columbus plays its home games at Bill
Davis Stadium on
the campus of The Ohio State University.
“Being a closer this summer allowed Ben to increase his velocity
a little bit since he only threw one inning at a time,” Keister
said. “During the Goshen College season Ben occasionally topped
out in the upper 80’s. While closing in Columbus he was consistently
in the upper 80’s and occasionally in the low 90’s.”
Incredibly, Taylor was not the lone Goshen College player to
be invited to play in this upper-echelon league. Junior Nate Colclasure,
who led the Leafs’ with 33 RBI and nine home runs in the spring,
was a member of the Indianapolis Servants. Colclasure was also selected
to the GLSCL’s mid-season All-Star game and finished the summer
with a .268 batting average.
“It’s a big asset for us to have the connections to send our
best players to this league because they get exposed to an even higher
level
of baseball which will hopefully lead to the chance for some
of them to play professionally,” Keister said.
The GLSCL, which claims itself as “the best place to play summer
college baseball in the country,” is a member of the National Alliance
of College Summer Baseball and has sent over 70 players to the
majors in its 19-year existence.
For more information on the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League,
click here. To access the Columbus All-Amercians team website click here.
Click here for the Indianapolis Servants fans website.
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  Senior
Ben Taylor
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