Trinity Classical Academy’s season opener at Vasquez included a light snowstorm and extra innings before eventually ending in a tie due to a lack of light.
By comparison, Thursday’s rematch at the Hart Baseball Complex was a pretty mundane affair.
The Knights used a pair of three-run innings, along with a strong performance from starter Luke Pfeiffer, to propel them to a 9-2 win over Vasquez.
While serving as the team’s first win of the year, it also marked the first win in the tenure of first-year coach Michael Franchimone.
Franchimone spent the last 12 seasons as an assistant for Santa Clarita Christian School.
“It’s a pretty amazing thing,” Franchimone said of his first win with the Knights. “Bottom line, these kids that I’ve been blessed with are over and beyond what I could’ve expected.”
The Knights got all the runs they’d need in the first. Andrew Pfeiffer drove in Tristen Rodriguez with a single toward second base and Judah Palmisano came around to score as well after the throw from second slipped by Vasquez’s first baseman. Andew Pfeiffer, who went 2-for-2 with a walk and hit by pitch, then scored one of his four runs following a wild pitch.
Luke Pfeiffer, a freshman making his first start of the season, took care of the rest for Trinity. He struck out seven over five innings of work while allowing a run on three hits and walking four (one intentional).
“I was just trying to keep my control, trying to keep my emotions a little bit low,” Luke Pfeiffer said. “I wanted to make sure I was able to pound the strike zone.”
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Trinity added three more runs in the third. It loaded the bases with nobody out and Aiden Martinelli cleared them after his single rolled underneath the glove of Vasquez’s center fielder. The Knights tacked on two more runs in the fourth and another in the sixth.
One of the runs in the fourth came on an RBI single from Luke Pfeiffer.
“Guys were putting the ball in play and forcing (Vasquez) to play some defense,” Franchimone said. “These first 10 games before league are tune-ups, so something like that is a positive sign going forward.”
Rodriguez reached base in all four plate appearances, going 1-for-3 with a single, a walk and two stolen bases, and also scored two runs. Trinity will continue its preleague slate Tuesday on the road against Milken.
