The Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors played a pair of district games Thursday and Friday nights as the varsity baseball season hits it final few weeks. District play is big on most teams’ remaining schedules, and the Conquerors began a stretch of games that has them playing four of their final nine against Class 4A, District 2 competition. Trinity split the first two with a loss to Bishop Snyder and a win over Episcopal.
Thursday: Bishop Snyder 5, Trinity 4
Bishop Snyder’s Danny Neri thwarted a second-and-third, no-out situation in the bottom of the seventh after entering with the tying run on second and the winning run on first. After uncorking a wild pitch that allowed the runners to advance, Neri (S: 1) then struck out three straight men to preserve the win and notch the save.
The Cardinals rallied from behind with a four-run top of the fifth. RBI hits from Sebastian Ortiz, Nick Wrubluski, and J.D. Garner (double) highlighted the big inning to make the score 5-4 after Trinity scored Run #4 in the bottom of the fourth.
Each team scored one in the first inning. Neri’s RBI single plated Antonio Easterling for Bishop Synder, and Trinity answered as Conner Aldrich led off with a hit and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Trinity added two in the third when Bryan Muniz scampered home on a wild pitch and Dawson Fietsam drove in Kishon Frett with a base hit. Aldrich then drove in Matt Luxenberg with a single in the fourth to put Trinity ahead 4-1 before Bishop Snyder mounted its comeback.
Jose Indio (W: 1-1, 3.89 ERA) entered in the fourth with one out and a runner on second. Indio got the only two men he faced to get the win in relief with 2/3 of an inning of work. Wrubluski followed with two scoreless innings and left in the seventh in favor of Neri after allowing the first two men to reach.
Friday: Trinity 2, Episcopal 1
Jared Donald’s two-out RBI double in the bottom of the second was the official game-winning hit, and Dylan Simmons worked around four defensive errors to earn the win on the mound.
Donald doubled down the left-field line to score Ethan Dage, who singled just before and raced home from first on Donald’s drive. Dage then drove in Frett (single, stolen base) with a two-out base hit to center in the fourth to put the Conquerors ahead 2-0.
Episcopal scored its lone run in the top of the fifth. Conner McGarrity led off the inning reaching and advancing to second on an overthrow. Cayden McGarrity sacrificed Conner to third, and Matthew Cooper’s ground ball drove home the run.
After that play, the lights went out and delayed the game for over 15 minutes. Upon resumption, Simmons did not let the layoff bother him; he got the next two men to end the inning. He then pitched a scoreless sixth with the help of a strike-out/caught-stealing double play to the final batter he faced. Frett threw a bullet to nab the runner at second and complete the twin killing.
Simmons (W: 3-1, 4,15) allowed only an unearned run in six innings of work while serving up only three hits. He walked two and struck out six. Matt Crump (S: 2) pitched a scoreless seventh in which he walked one fanned two. First baseman Justin Simmons raced over to the visitor’s dugout and made a very nice catch in foul ground to end the game and leave the potential tying run on base.
Upcoming Games
Bishop Snyder (11-7, 4-1 in district play) will next travel to district opponent and 4A’s #4-ranked Providence (11-5, 3-1) on Tuesday, April 16. Episcopal (9-7, 2-2) has 5A Baker County on Monday, April 15, and 2A Eagle’s View Academy (7-9) on Tuesday – both at home.
The Conquerors (12-7-1, 3-1) play 9A Mandarin High School (11-5) Monday night at 7:00 p.m. and district opponent Duval Charter (10-4, 2-2) Tuesday afternoon. Both games will stream live on Facebook: TCA Conquerors Athletics.
