2016 NHSI: Trinity Christian Edges Houston 2-1 In Finale

CARY, N.C.—Trinity Christian Academy defeated Houston High 2-1 Saturday morning in a consolation game after Houston threw away Parker Aman’s suicide squeeze, allowing the deciding run to cross the plate.

The play gave A.J. Labas the win and allowed TCA (Jacksonville, Fla.) head coach Gil Morales to hand the ball over to freshman Florida State commit Dylan Simmons, who earned the save in a game defined by its pitching.

Coach Morales said there was no hesitation in handing the ball over to Simmons due to how the freshman has carried himself this season. “A lot of talented young arms are wild, they’re all over the place,” Morales said. “Dylan has showed us his maturity. He gets up there and he’s in a zone.”

Despite throwing on short rest, Labas pitched well against Houston. Labas went five innings with only four hits and one run allowed against five strikeouts and no walks. The Houston hitters were unable to put solid contact on anything the Trinity pitchers put in front of them, recording only four hits, all singles.

Houston (Tennessee) High scored its only run in the bottom of the second inning. Cleanup hitter Conrad Ray led off for Houston with a ground ball to third that was mishandled. Cooper Bullough singled to right before Blair Reid hit his own single to right. On Reid’s single, Todd Lott made what would turn out to be a pivotal play for Trinity, throwing out Ray at home to limit the damage. Porter recorded the only RBI of the game for the Mustangs with a single to left, which scored Bullough from third.

On this day the Houston pitchers were a notch below their counterparts. Starting pitcher Reid Blair threw four scoreless innings, holding Trinity hitless but conceding three walks. Davis Stewart entered the game in the top of the fifth and allowed Trinity’s first run in one inning of relief work. After Stewart struck out his first batter, Angel Acosta hit a single to left and allowed a walk to put men on first and second. J.C. Flowers struck out looking but Colton Yeager put Trinity on the board with an RBI single.

The top of sixth did not go any better for Houston. Reliever Barrone Porter came in for the final two frames and quickly encountered trouble. Porter hit Lott, the first batter he faced. Martin Austin then flew out to first base but Logan Nugent hit a single to right field to put runners at the corners. Aman then laid down his fateful squeeze, Porter fielded the ball but rushed his throw home and missed his target, allowing pinch-runner Chad Ragland to score the winning run.

Reflecting on his team’s time in Cary, Coach Morales was very pleased with his team’s 2-2 NHSI performance, noting that without two poor innings, his team might have been in the title game.

“We’re thrilled to come away from here .500,” he said. “This is state title-level baseball here. The California teams here, their energy level is great. Coming all the way here for this tournament, they understand how big it is to be here. Some of them have been here before and they come with a sense of urgency.”