Trinity Classical Academy baseball head coach Justin Stark called sophomore Andrew Carlson’s performance to win the Heritage League title one of the best he’s seen “at any level.”
Carlson did everything for the Knights in their regular-season finale last week against the Vasquez Mustangs, striking out 15 in a one-hitter on the mound while smashing two home runs at the plate.
That helped the Knights to a 4-0 win, their 47th straight in league play, and their fourth consecutive league title.
“Just the dominance he had on the mound and then to get up to the plate and to drive those runs in,” Stark said in a phone interview. “You know, those were two of his three home runs of the year, but it looked like he’s been doing it every game, if you’re able to see it live.”
The Knights (20-2, 10-0) steamrolled through most of their competition this season. Their only losses were to the Castaic Coyotes and Valencia Vikings, two teams from the Foothill League that both made the playoffs.
Trinity needed to sweep Vasquez (17-7, 8-2) in last week’s two-game series to clinch the title outright. A series split would have seen the two teams split the title.
A 12-4 victory for Trinity in the first game accomplished the first half of the goal, followed by Tuesday’s shutout to finish things off.
“It’s a tough thing to do, but that’s kind of what the goal was from day one for a lot of these guys,” Stark said. “Especially for the ones that have been here for all four years. That was one of their goals that they had for themselves they wanted to help put the team in a position to win a fourth one.”
Multiple players have been key contributors for the Knights throughout the regular season. Senior John Carlson, Andrew’s older brother, struck out 100 batters while pitching to a 0.71 ERA in 49.1 innings. Andrew had 80 strikeouts and a 1.60 ERA in 48 innings, creating a nearly impenetrable duo on the mound.
At the plate, they were two of nine Knights to record double-digit hits on the season. One of those was senior Jordan Lovelace, a Master’s University commit and last year’s Heritage League MVP, who hasn’t played since the middle of April due to a fractured right elbow, according to Stark. Trinity’s leadoff hitter and shortstop is set to miss the postseason.
“That’s obviously something that’s a big loss for us,” Stark said. “But, you know, we’ve had a lot of guys that have stepped up and helped us in that spot.”
The younger Carlson led the Knights with 31 hits, 10 of them for extra bases, while junior Quinn Minyard had 26 hits, including two home runs and seven doubles. Senior Luke Backes added 25 hits, including three home runs and six doubles.
Freshmen Aiden Visconti and Cade Herta proved to be ready for the high-school level with 20-plus hits each and double-digit RBIs and runs scored. Stark thinks that with those two continuing to improve, the Knights can continue to be competitive for years to come.
“They’re going to be stepping into some big leadership roles as we continue,” Stark said, “and if we could continue to have the leadership we got from the seniors we had this year moving forward, then we’re going to be in a position to be successful.”
Trinity is set to host the Don Lugo Conquistadores (17-7) on Thursday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs. That game is set to begin at 4:15 p.m. at the William S. Hart Pony baseball complex.
