Christian Scott Leads Calvary Christian To Victory

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s Calvary Christian advanced to the second round of the National High School Invitational tournament thanks to a strong pitching performance from righthander Christian Scott.

Scott, whose powerful fastball hits the low 90s, struck out eight batters over seven innings of work and produced a complete game as Calvary Christian held off Hattiesburg (Miss.) 4-1.

“Christian is a competitor,” head coach Alan Kunkel said. “He’s been that kind of guy for three years.”

Scott was helped by third baseman Roberto Pena’s two-hit day. In the fourth inning, Pena broke a scoreless tie by smoking a two-run single to center field.

Hattiesburg cut the deficit in half in the fifth thanks to an RBI single from shortstop Caleb Tart, who led his team with three hits. Center fielder Joe Gray Jr. followed him by scorching a double, giving the Tigers runners on second and third. But Scott quickly escaped without further damage by getting pitcher Dexter Jordan to fly out for the third out. It marked the second time that Scott escaped a jam with runners in scoring position.

“We trust him,” Kunkel said. “And we don’t feel like there’s anybody on our team we would rather have in that situation and he continues to get out of tough jams.”

The Eagles added runs in the next two innings, both times scoring on RBI groundouts. In the seventh and final inning, Scott struck out the first two hitters while continuing to hit the low 90s with his fastball. After allowing a two-out single, the righty retired the next batter to preserve the 4-1 victory and punch his team a spot in the next round.