Trinity Christian Falls In 2A Final, Ends 2025 As State Runners Up

Anything worth having does not come easy. The First Academy Royals know that as well as anybody, after reaching the state Final Four a season ago, only to watch the dream of championship glory get dashed away.

But on Wednesday afternoon, the Royals found redemption. Behind a spirited and passionate performance across the roster, First Academy stormed past the Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors for a 7-2 victory to win the Class 2A state championship, at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. It is the second state title for the program, which also won the 3A crown back in 2021.

“This is unbelievable,” senior Austin Pierzynski said. “We’ve been working hard. We made the Final Four last year and lost in the first round, so we’ve been working pretty much since that day to get back here and win it all. We’ve been hungry the whole time, and this just feels so good for it to pay off.”

Following an in-season coaching change last year, the Royals found stability at the position in the offseason in bringing in the highly-accomplished Alan Kunkel to lead the program. Having won a state title previously at Calvary Christian Fort Lauderdale, the marriage of coach and players was seamless and worked to perfection. The players embraced Kunkel’s vision, and the results were now realized at Hammond Stadium in their championship celebration.

“I couldn’t say enough about these kids,” Kunkel said. “Being a new guy with a huge senior class, they bought in and they were resilient. They learned how to compete and to out-execute teams day in and day out, and really they were the most competitive group of kids that I have been around in a while. They competed with one another from day one. Obviously, they were here last year in the Final Four and they lost in the semifinals. So they got a taste of it, and they wanted to come back. But it’s not easy. Getting here is not easy. The road is tough. What an awesome experience for them.”

Just as was the case in the state semifinal, the Royals (30-4) found themselves behind on the scoreboard early on. Trinity Christian’s Aiden Arnett jumped on a 1-0 offering and blasted a lead-off home run to right field to put the Conquerors (30-5) out in front.

“That game could have gone south real quick with Arnett leading off with a home run. But again, give credit to their resiliency and their ability to deal with the emotion of the game,” Kunkel said.

The Royals did not falter or even blink at the deficit. The team trusted what they had on their side of the diamond, and once it got rolling, the momentum escalated like a boulder hauling downhill. First Academy took the lead in the top of the second, and never looked back.

“Last year we were nervous and made a lot of errors, and it felt like the stage was a little too big for us,” Pierzynski said. “This year, it felt like we were in control the whole time. In both games, we got down early. In the first game we were down 2-0 early, and in this we gave up a lead-off homer. We just battled back in both games, and came out on top. Last year I don’t think we would have done that.”

A pair of runs in the second put the Royals ahead, and they never let that lead slip away again. Eric Martinez got it started by smacking a 2-0 pitch into left field for a lead-off double. It was the start for a big day for the third baseman, who led the way by going 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles and a run, even though his individual performance was of no importance to him as long as the end result had been the same.

“This feels great,” Martinez said. “It’s a team game and we won it as a team, and we needed all of our guys today.”

All of the guys showed up as needed. Roy Rodriguez singled to right and then stole second base, and Kinon Bastian followed with an RBI single that evened the score at a run apiece. Bastion got picked off on a steal attempt that worked to perfection in allowing Rodriguez to score to take the lead.

An inning later the Royals tacked on another when Pierzynski walked and scored on an RBI double from Martinez.

Another run went up on the scoreboard in the fifth. Blake Fields lined a double down the left field line, Remo Indomenico singled and Fields came home on an infield error.

Trinity answered back in the bottom of the fifth, in the final pivotal moment of the action. Arnett connected for a double to center and Brady Harris clubbed a base hit to right field that allowed Arnett to race around third and score.

But with the tying run at the plate, the Royals dug in to quell the threat and keep in control. The coaches trusted in their guys and left it up to them to deliver, and they did exactly that. Starter Thomas Achey got a swinging strikeout, followed by a pop out to second to end the frame.

“You are raising kids, right? You want to be able to raise them right and trust them to be able to go make good decisions,” Kunkel said. “Practice is for the coaches; the game is for the players. Once we get to game time we try to stay out of their way and let them really take to task. They practice hard all week, all year, all day, and really it’s the freedom that they have to play the game within the framework of our system. They have done a great job with it all year.”

That relationship and trust between the players and coaches was evident throughout. There was no need to tinker and change the formula that had gotten them this far, but rather just to trust the guys that the way they prepared had them armed with the solution to every challenge.

“His experience in the big stage really, from day one, it kept us composed and got us in the right mindset for the Final Four,” Pierzynski said about the relationship the players have with their manager. “Last year we had our interim coach up here for the Final Four, and he was great. But Coach Kunkel, with his experience, he has won a state championship before, and he’s coached at the college level and he’s coached in regionals. We played a hard schedule in the regular season, and his goal with us was preparing us for the playoffs, and now you can see it.”

Three more runs in the top of the sixth created a large cushion for the Royals and a much larger hole to climb out of for the Conquerors. Cannon Koronka reached on an error, and three straight walks to Fields, Indomenico and then Pierzynski resulted in another run, and then Martinez struck again by driving in a pair with a single to left.

Standing on first base, listening to the Royal faithful crowd roar and encourage them all, Martinez could already taste the moment.

“Especially because of last year, it feels great now,” Martinez said. “It’s surreal. It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling – just the best feeling in the world.”

The First Academy fans have always been passionate and dedicated in support of the team. Wednesday afternoon they showed out again, baking in the hot sun to congregate behind the Royals’ dugout to provide a loud, emotional and uplifting crescendo of support all game long.

“There is nothing like it, getting the adrenaline going, with all the fans here,” Pierzynski said. “It is awesome that TFA lets the kids come and support us, and it’s a great school. We honor the lord in everything we do, and these kids are always in support of us, no matter what we do.”

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