Final: Holy Trinity 6, St. John the Baptist 3
WP: Atkinson
S: PerinoHeppner: 2-for-3, RBI
Sinclair: 1-for-3, 2 RBIs
Alvarez: 1-for-3, 2 runs, RBI
Tyler Cook: 1-for-3, R, RBI pic.twitter.com/gWEBAJAeN1— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 23, 2024
If there was one thing that the Holy Trinity Titans proved in 2023 during this magical run to the New York State Championship, it was that they should never be counted out. Whether it’s the first or the seventh inning, they are never out of a ballgame.
They proved that once again today as they overcame a 3-1 deficit against St. John the Baptist on the road against a tough lefty, as they used a five-run fifth inning to win by the score of 6-3.
Catcher Andrew Heppner who had two hits and drove in a run, said “Today really showed how we can bounce back as a team, we beat St. Francis Prep over the weekend and we are looking to continue to roll this weekend and into the next series,” said Heppner who had two game-winning hits during their postseason run last year.
Nick D’Avanzo got the start for St. John the Baptist, who is committed to Division-II powerhouse North Greenville. He was very effective early on, firing three scoreless innings to start the game.
His offense got on the board in the home half of the third against Sean Atkinson. Aidan Casey got things going with a double to right center field to lead off the inning. After an infield poppet, Thomas Rorick hit a single to put runners on the corners and Rorick stole second. After a pop out for the second out of the inning, Joey Gubatosi hit a single up the middle to score 2 runs. Ethan Schmutz hit a single to right field but Gubatosi was thrown out at third attempting to run on Tyler Cook.
The Titans got on the board in the top of the fourth inning. Alvarez led off with a walk and Andrew Heppner hit a single to right center field. Andrew Sinclair’s RBI ground out scored Alvarez to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
SJB got that run right back, though, in the home half of the fourth. Kyle Cahill hit a one-out double to left center. Aidan Casey’s RBI single to right field score him to extend the lead to 3-1.
The game completely flipped in the top of the fifth inning. Oddly enough, the inning started with a strikeout for the first out of the inning. Aidan Annello’s walk got the rally started. An error on a tailor-made double play was a huge miscue that allowed Holy Trinity to continue their rally. A hit by pitch loaded the bases and Alvarez looped an RBI single to right field and the right fielder misplayed the ball allowing a second run to score and the game to be tied at 3-3. Tyler Cook ripped an RBI single to give the Titans a 4-3 lead, Heppner followed with his second hit of the day to make it 5-3 and Sinclair also hit an RBI single and before you knew it, a 3-1 deficit was a 6-3 lead.
They turned to John Perino in relief and he was outstanding. The junior RHP fired three shutout innings with six strikeouts to protect the lead and deliver the victory for Holy Trinity.
“I just lock in,” said Perino. “I just throw my fastball and my curveball – just locate that pitch,” he added.
They will be back in action tomorrow for Game 2 of the series.
