Taylor has started out district hot.

The Mustangs weren’t given an easy start to the season, going up against reigning district champion Cinco Ranch before taking on Seven Lakes, which was also a playoff team last year, but despite that, Taylor (11-6-1, 3-0) has proven they can be among the best in the district, sweeping the Cougars and following that up with a 4-1 win on Tuesday over the Spartans (8-7-2, 0-1) to stay in a tie for first in District 19-6A with Katy and Paetow.

“We’re a team that can’t be taken lightly this year,” said senior shortstop Chase Marshall. “We come out and we are going to compete every single game. We can compete with any team, it’s showed with how we’ve played so far.”

A huge part of the Mustangs success has been their pitching and the performance of sophomore pitcher Bryce Krenek, who has started each of the teams three district games so far. Through those three games, Krenek has only allowed two runs, both of which have been unearned and he was tremendous on Tuesday, pitching six innings and striking out 13 while only allowing one unearned run on two hits to lead Taylor to the win.

“He’s just a competitor,” said Taylor head coach Russell Krenek. “He didn’t have his best stuff today, but he still competed and gutted it out and it’s hard for guys to hit him. Bryce has so much run on his pitches and he can mix in four of them, so it keeps everyone on his toes. He’s done a really good job.”

Taylor took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Zach Larsen hit a double and then came around to score on a passed ball. It stayed that way until the fourth inning when Seven Lakes got a man in scoring position that came around to score on a single from Christian Villamizar to tie things. It remained tied until the sixth inning, when Taylor found a breakthrough. The Mustangs got one on and Alex Satterfield gave the team the lead on a double before David Harris hit a sacrifice fly and Christian Jaquay brought in a fourth run with an RBI single of his own.

It went to the bottom of the inning and Seven Lakes threatened, getting two men in scoring position, but Michael Brupbacher struck out the final batter of the game to end things.

“Our dugout is just always cheering people on and I think it’s led to us being calm up there and being able to come up big in late innings,” Bryce Krenek said. “We’re loud, always energetic and it’s never lazy. That kind of energy just reassures the offense and we’ve fed off of that.”

The Mustangs will face Seven Lakes again Thursday before being off from district play Saturday and Tuesday.

“There’s a belief in this locker room and that’s the best feeling as a coach,” Russell Krenek said. “They know they’re never out of a game and they understand that we are going to be in a lot of close ballgames but we have a team that can be good in those moments and grind away those wins. It takes us all, everyone has embraced their roles and they are doing exactly what they need to do.”

District 19-6A

Taylor 4, Seven Lakes 1

SL: 001 110 0 – 1 2 1

Taylor: 010 003 x – 4 5 3

W: Bryce Krenek. L: Ty Berra. Highlights: (SL) James Levin, 4.1 IP, 3H, 0 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB; Christian Villamizar, 1-2, 1 BB, 1 RBI; Ty Berra, 1-3. (T) Bryce Krenek, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 13 SO, 3 BB; Alex Satterfield, 1-3, 1 RBI, David Harris, 1-2, 1 RBI, Christian Jaquay, 1-3- 1 RBI. Records: Taylor, 11-6-1, 3-0; Seven Lakes, 8-7-2, 0-1;