The West Lincoln Bears saw their magical season come to an end Monday night as the Taylorsville Tartars swept the Bears with a 17-3 victory in Game Two of the best-of-three series in the third round of the Class 2A baseball state playoffs.

In a late game last Saturday, the Bears fought hard to win Game One but fell short at the end as the Tartars captured a 2-0 win.

“The guys played hard against a very good Taylorsville’s ball club,” said West Lincoln coach Steve Barrington. “Overall I am proud of my seniors. They had a lot to do with a successessful season. We got nothing to hold our head down about. Taylorsville is really good.”

The Bears finished their season with a 19-9 record overall. West Lincoln placed third in their first run in the Region 8-2A race with a 7-3 record.

Taylorsville 17, West Lincoln 3 

The Bears and Tartars provided an exciting contest in Game Two as both fought to a 2-all tie in two innings of action,

Taylorsville managed to turn up the heat in the third inning and they exploded with a 10-run blast to secure a 12-2 advantage.

In the bottom of the third inning, West Lincoln worked hard to answer Taylorsville’s challenge, but managed to score only one run as the Tartars held on to a 12-3 lead.

Taylorsville continued to increase their lead in the fifth inning as they scored five more runs to claim a 17-3 lead and secure the win.

Brody Bray was the winning pitcher for the Tartars with four strikeouts and two walks.

Tanner Boutwell suffered the season ending setback on the mound for the Bears with a no strikeouts and one walk. Seth Bivens (0K, 1BB), Jeremy Burns (0K, 1BB) and Turner Pyles (1K, 0BB) also saw action on the mound for West Lincoln in relief.

Jordan Hayes sparked the Tartars’ offense with a home run and a double. Austin Moffett fueled the flames with a home run and a single. Matthew Craft and Dylan Henderson contributed three singles each. Joseph Gately, Andrew Pankratz and Jarvis Griffith provided a pair of singles. Bray ripped a double and a single.

Alex Neal was the top hitter at the plate for West Lincoln with two singles. Hitting safely were Ty Forman, Bryce Temple, Jeremy Burns and Chase Buckles.

Taylorsville 2, West Lincoln 0 

In a great pitchers duel, the Bears and Tartars showed off their defensive talents and both teams struggled to get their offense going.

Taylorsville managed to break up the scoreless game in the third to secure a 1-0 lead and later would add another run in the sixth inning to secure the victory.

Hayes dominated the mound for the Tartars with 14 strikeouts and three walks.

Brady Wilson also provided a stellar performance on the mound for the Bears with eight strikeouts and two walks.

Moffett was the top slugger at the plate for Taylorsville with a double. Craft, Gately and Bray hit safely.

Neal recorded the only hit for West Lincoln’s offense with a single.