BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — In their first official AISA matchup, Trinity Christian unleashed a barrage of hits and efficient baserunning to claim a 13-7 home victory over The Oaks School to open area play at Bill Harrelson Field on March 23.
Anderson England recorded three hits, knocked in four RBIs and scored a run in four at-bats, while John Stuart Nicholson tallied three runs and two RBIs of his own in the win for the Eagles.
Bryant Johnson connected on three hits, scored two runs and recorded an RBI, and Frank Huguley also added three hits and three RBIs in four at-bats apiece in a losing effort for the Mighty Oaks.
With the victory, Trinity improved to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in AISA A Region 1 Area 2 play. The Oaks dropped to 1-5 on the season and 0-1 in AISA A Region 1 Area 2.
Despite being outhit by the Mighty Oaks 11 to nine, the Eagles made the most of their opportunities, according to Trinity head coach Noah Gardner. He credited the win to consistent messaging about focusing only on the task at hand.
“We post our four offensive game goals in our dugout, and we hit all four of them tonight,” Gardner said. “You’ve got to be able to score yourself, and when our guys got on base, they ran aggressively and intelligently. We were even able to steal home one time. And so I’m really proud of how the team ran the bases and how difficult they were to get out at the plate.”
As one of the few seniors on Trinity’s squad, England said matchups against The Oaks carry extra weight and complimented his teammates’ ability to convert hits and walks into timely runs.
“Trinity versus The Oaks is a crosstown rivalry, and it feels like our Iron Bowl to us in a way. It’s a big series, a big game, so we’re always optimistic to get out there and play some ball,” England said. “It’s a testament to the guys hitting tonight, they hit great. When you’re in the box, and you look and see two or three guys out there, it just gets you more amped up for your next at-bat.”
The Eagles drew first blood in the bottom of the first, when a booming William Dooley double to deep right-center set the tone early. An outfield error allowed Dooley to come home, and England followed with a line-drive single that hugged the first-base line to plate Nicholson. Joseph Mayes capped the frame with an RBI single, as another Oaks error let England score from second to make it 3-0.
Staring down a three-run deficit in the top of the second, the Mighty Oaks loaded the bases and quickly responded. Ashton Crews laced a line-drive single into left to score David Nelson Rhyne and Mike Carter, and Huguley added a gorgeous two-run double to the right-center gap to score Bryant Johnson and Crews. That flipped the scoreboard and gave The Oaks a 4-3 lead.
The momentum swing, however, was short-lived.
Trinity blew the game wide open with a five-run fourth inning that Mayes sparked by taking advantage of a wild overthrow at third. Dooley then drove an RBI single deep into right-center, plating Bronx Duval on another Oaks error. England later smacked a thunderous two-run double to center, scoring Dooley and Bo Burton, before Nicholson pounced on confusion in The Oaks’ infield, stealing home with an audacious dash from third. That pushed Trinity’s lead to 8-4.
The Eagles continued pouring it on in the fifth after Duval barely beat the pitcher to home plate from third base after a wild pitch sailed past the catcher. Nicholson then launched another two-run double deep into center to score Dooley and Burton. England emphatically capped the inning with another booming double to center, scoring Nicholson and stretching the lead to 12-4.
The Mighty Oaks showed resolve and refused to pack it in during the sixth despite the deficit. Huguley launched a beautiful looping single to right field to score Bryant Johnson from second. However, the Eagles answered right back when the umpire called a balk on an Oaks pitcher, allowing Dooley to trot home from third.
Carter put an exclamation point on the scoring for The Oaks with a thunderous double to center, plating Asher Johnson, before Bryant Johnson dropped a perfectly placed single just inside the baseline in right field to score Bryson Johnson.
The Oaks hosted Trinity in a doubleheader on March 24. [Result here]. The Observer will provide coverage of those games in our April 2 edition.
