Trinity Christian Finishes Strong At NHSI

CARY, N.C.—Trinity Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) sophomore righthander Austin Thomas is jokingly called “Big Bird” by his teammates.

And in Saturday’s National High School Invitational consolation matchup against South Hills (West Covina, Calif.), Thomas certainly came up big.

The lanky long-haired righthander cruised threw a seven-inning complete game, shutting down the powerful Huskies in a 2-1 Conquerers win. Thomas struck out six and allowed three hits, walking none. He touched 88 mph while mixing in a changeup and a slow curveball.

“We’ve been using him as a closer and middle reliever throughout the season, and we felt like he was our best option for today,” Trinity Christian coach Gil Morales said. “And he just kept getting better. He had real command of the zone, was throwing three pitches for strikes, facing a really tough lineup. We were one batter at a time in the sixth and seventh, and he took care of it.” 

Thomas ran into trouble in the first inning, as South Hills first baseman John Dearth hit a one-out ground ball single just past the glove of the lunging second baseman to bring home two-hole hitter Isaiah Ayala in the first inning.

But Trinity Christian battled back. The Conquerers evened the score in the third. Shortstop Austin Martin doubled in a run—his second hit of the day after singling in the first. Then leadoff hitter Bryan Muniz came around to score on a wild pitch in the fifth to give the Conquerers a lead. 

Thomas took care of the rest, cruising through the final two frames.

“I just thought that if I could pitch to contact and let my defense behind me just make plays for me—and they did,” Thomas said. “They just hit it and my defense did the work for me.”

With the win, the young Conquerers finished the tournament 2-2—their same record last year.

“It’s been a blessing,” Thomas said of the tournament experience. “I came out here with my best friends, my teammates. We didn’t get to exactly where we wanted, but we finished strong.”