BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Trinity Christian School’s historic baseball season ended in the first round of the AISA Class A playoffs after losing 13-0 and 14-2 to No. 4 Macon East Academy in Cecil on April 21.
Following those defeats, the Eagles finished their season with a 5-12 overall record. The Knights advanced to the second round with a 24-15 mark on the year.
It was the first time that Trinity had appeared in the AISA baseball playoffs in just their second year as a full varsity program.
While Trinity head coach Noah Gardner expressed disappointment with the results, he said he was still extremely proud of his young team and their effort until the very end.
He also thanked his seniors for their contributions in helping start the program, and added that the memory of two of his seniors scoring runs in their final at-bats will stick with him for the rest of his life.
“This senior class that’s about to graduate, I’ve never doubted that they were going to come and give me their best in practice, so I’m really thankful for them,” Gardner said. “We want to keep creeping toward 0.500 and a winning season. Everybody’s goal is to win their last game, the state championship, right? It’s hard to achieve that since we’re still a really young program, but it’s up to the guys coming back [next year] to continue to build on this.”
Game 1
The Knights struck first in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice bunt by Parker Ruskin, a Trinity error and an RBI single by Bryant Grimes to go up 3-0.
Ruskin’s two-run double then highlighted a three-run second inning for Macon East before the Knights blew the game open with seven runs in the third.
Conner Wallace’s two-run single, Patrick Ernest’s two-run double and run-scoring singles from Jackson Todd and Cole Dozier keyed that pivotal inning before the head umpire invoked the mercy rule.
Grimes earned the win for the Knights by tossing three shutout innings of one hit, six strikeouts and no walks.
Roy Washburn took the loss on the mound for Trinity, and Fife Conway recorded the Eagles’ lone hit.
Game 2
Although it also ended in a loss for Trinity, the second game proved more fruitful.
A sacrifice fly by Ernest put the Knights ahead in the first, and Macon East pushed across four runs in the second on Trenton Shufford’s RBI single, two bases-loaded walks and a balk.
With the game still in reach for the Eagles, the Knights shut the door on a possible game three with eight runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by Shufford’s three-run double, Ruskin’s two-run double and Cole Streetman’s two-run single.
Trinity then showed their competitive spirit in the bottom of the fourth after Washburn’s hard ground ball single hit an uneven patch of field and rolled deep into center field.
That allowed Anderson England to scamper home from first base and Washburn to score an inside-the-park home run.
The Knights scored one last run in the top of fifth before striking out three consecutive Eagles batters to close the game out.
Todd went the distance for Macon East, scattering three hits over five innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. He also allowed two unearned runs.
England took the loss for Trinity as the leading pitcher, while Washburn, England and Barrett Reeves each had a hit for the Eagles.
