Following a loss to Rio Mesa on Thursday, the Trinity Classical Academy Knights bounced back in Heritage League play with a win over crosstown rival Santa Clarita Christian on Monday, 14-0, and recorded their ninth win of the season.
“I thought we had a ton of energy today. The guys came out ready to go, and their preparation was awesome to see how they didn’t take the game lightly,” Trinity head coach Justin Stark said.
In the first inning, the Knights (9-8, 1-0) came out of the gates and took the early one-run lead following a passed ball from Cardinals (8-5, 7-2) pitcher Greg Michlin.
On the mound, junior right-hander Andrew Carlson, who’s a commit to Texas Christian University, set the tone as he started the game for the Knights and struck out three Cardinal batters in the first inning. In the bottom of the second, Carlson stepped up to the batter box and launched a line drive to the right field for a bases-clearing double.
After the game, Stark said it’s fun to watch Carlson contribute on the mound and plate for the Knights as he helps the team win games.
“When you have a guy like Andrew Carlson on the mound that starts you off and at the plate, you’re gonna put yourself in a pretty good position to get the win,” Stark said.
In the top of the third inning, Calrson kept up the momentum at the plate and hit a two-run home run to left field that got the Knights’ dugout to erupt.
The junior ended the day having driven in four runs on two hits with one walk.
On the mound, Carlson was pulled after two and two-thirds innings and struck out six.
Stark added that the momentum did not let up the whole game, and when the Knights are feeling good in the dugout, the energy replicates itself at the plate.
“It all started with the energy we had in the dugout,” he said. “The guys were really getting behind each other, really helping each other out and having really competitive at-bats.”
The Knights tallied six hits across five innings and walked seven times.
As for Santa Clarita Christian, the Cardinals struck out 11 times over five innings and only tagged three hits as the team was shut out for the third time this season.
The Knights opened Heritage League play with a win and are one game above .500 on the season.
Stark believes there’s still much to work on before the Cardinals and Knights play the series finale on Thursday, but until then the Knights will ride the momentum and hope to build upon it.
“We’re just going to take it one day at a time,” Stark said. “We got some stuff we got to work on in practice and some stuff we’ll clean up and not look too far ahead.”
The Cardinals and Knights play the series finale on Thursday at the Hart baseball complex with first pitch scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
