'Into a groove': Lewis-Clark State's Jace Taylor is pitching his best as a senior

That made the LC State baseball program a natural fit.

"I like that aspect of it — just grinding it out with your teammates," Taylor said. "(It) just brings you closer going through tough times. You have no choice but to lean on each other."

Taylor struck out 13 batters through 8 2/3 innings during his first year in Lewiston and appeared to be well on his way to contributing to a very talented LC State baseball team that ended up a national runner-up in the 2023 Avista NAIA World Series.

Unfortunately, his season lasted just five games before he suffered a UCL tear.

To recover from the injury, Taylor moved back to Arizona. The experience "wasn't bad," he said as he got closer to the other athletes from programs across the country who were recovering at the Surprise facility.

He also lived in a house with some of his high school friends. They were former baseball players and helped him throw and work out outside of the facility.

Prior to Taylor's return to Lewiston for the 2025 season, the Warriors had failed to reach the World Series while he was away in 2024.

As the team strived to return to the pinnacle of NAIA baseball, Taylor's ERA ballooned to 5.51, because of two particularly sour outings in which he allowed three earned runs — first at British Columbia on March 2, 2025, and again against College of Idaho on April 13.

However, he recorded seven shutout appearances, including a masterful three innings of scoreless baseball when his team's proverbial back was against the wall in the Warriors' season-ending loss to Wayland Baptist in the Opening Round on May 12.

With an up-and-down season under his belt and a full year of working with pitching coach Brandon Vial, Taylor is finding steadier results in 2026.

A big emphasis for LC State coach Jeremiah Robbins, in the first year of his second stint after a six-year tenure that featured three consecutive national championships in the mid-2010s, is tapping the potential of guys on the roster who have the talent but possess limited experience.

"He's growing as we speak," Robbins said of Taylor. "He's a beast. He's 6-foot-5, about 225 pounds, so just getting his mind right was the biggest thing we've done this year, letting him settle into a role for us. And he's taken advantage of it."

Taylor, already armed with a mid-90 mph fastball, has been working on a new pitch — the cutter — with Vial playing a key role in Taylor's development.

Through nine appearances, including three in which he has covered at least three innings, Taylor has not allowed double-digit runs.

Taylor said that Robbins and his staff set their expectations in August during fall camp and conduct practices in a way that makes the games themselves easier.

That doesn't mean the pressure is not there. Rather, Robbins has armed Taylor and his teammates with the tools to handle it.

"It's easy to get caught up in the expectations of this program," Taylor said. "The 19 national championships is a heavy load to carry. You're expected to win it all, which is a lot and you can get caught up in that sometimes. So it's important to take a step back and relax and really settle down and get into a groove. I think that's helped me a lot."

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.