Trinity Christian Returns To State Final Behind Watson Shutout

Brady Harris scores the only run for the Conquerors in their 1-0 win over Berkeley Prep in the Class 2A state semifinal.

On the biggest stage against the toughest competition, the Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors delivered their finest performance of the season. Behind a dominant showing from ace pitcher Aaron Watson, the Conquerors earned a gritty, 1-0 victory over the Berkeley Prep Buccaneers in the Class 2A state semifinal at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

Trinity Christian (30-4) advances to the state finals, looking to add its second state championship in program history.

Aaron Watson was locked in from the very start to the very finish, delivering his best when it was needed the most to lead his team back to the grand finale.

“That was awesome. You can’t say enough about Aaron Watson right there,” Trinity Christian Manager Jonathan Murphy said. “That was unbelievable; just making pitch-after-pitch-after-pitch with some adversity. One of our bug things as a team is picking each other up. We didn’t play the best defense today that we would have liked, but Aaron picked us up. It is so cool to see that he’s got our backs like that, and that is what being a team is about. So it’s cool to experience that, and for him to have a day like that is really cool.”

Watson went the distance on the mound to earn the shutout victory. He allowed just one hit and two walks, and also hit a batter. He struck out seven and only needed 79 pitches to go the full seven innings.

“We had a plan going into the game,” Watson said. “In the bullpen, I told my coach that my slider was on today. If I am able to land it consistently they are not going to be able to hit it. I was able to stick with that plan throughout the entire game. My bread-and-butter is usually my sinker. I went sinker-slider tonight, and just being able to have that as sharp as it was today was definitely a big plus.”

Aaron Watson tossed a one-hit, complete-game shutout to lead Trinity Christian back to the state championship.

Trinity tallied the only run of the day with its first swings in the bottom of the first inning. The Conquerors immediately drew first blood to play with the lead the rest of the way, albeit with the smallest of margins.

“That is just a testament to our guys and how hard we work. No matter what the score says, we’re just always on top and we feel like we always have the momentum our way,” junior Brady Harris said. “No matter if it is a 1-0 game or 7-0, no matter who scores it, it’s a testament to how hard we work and how well we work as a team. We’ve all played together for years now, and I’ve known some of these guys since I was a little, little kid. We know how to stay composed when we’re with each other. We know we’ve got each other’s backs no matter what, and that is obviously going to take us all the way.”

It was Harris who accounted for that valuable run that was the difference. Batting second in the lineup, the center fielder connected on a 1-2 offering with one out and he lined it into the right field corner and then raced around the bases for a triple. Jordan Martinez then jumped on an 0-1 pitch and delivered a liner to left field for an RBI double.

The Conquerors have thrived all season by jumping on teams as quickly as possible.

“That’s something we take pride in, always,” Harris said. “We’re the aggressors always, so when we come out there, and myself especially, when I’m the most aggressive that’s when I’m at my best. That is when the team is at our best. That’s obviously the main goal is to be the aggressors always.”

That aggressiveness staked Watson with the lead right away, and he took care of the rest to make that one run stand as enough. With such little margin for error, Watson was composed and in control.

“As a pitcher, it is not the greatest thing,” Watson admitted of the pressure he faced in holding that small lead. “But just having a defense behind me, I was able to trust those guys throughout the game. I had my stuff and I had a plan of attack, and I knew that was going to work the whole game. Just trusting my stuff and trusting my teammates, and also knowing that one swing of the bat the whole thing is turned around and we’re up five to nothing.”

The prospect of getting five runs was made tougher with every pitch they saw against Berkeley Prep ace Rivers Kurland. The veteran left-hander also went the distance for his third complete-game of the year and ninth overall in his high school career. Even though he allowed eight hits and walked one, he was incredibly effective in limiting the damage and keeping the Bucs in the game to the very end.

“We had two weeks to prepare, and I guess maybe we needed three, because he is pretty stinking good,” Murphy said. “We know he has an elite fastball and changeup, and then he can land the breaking ball whenever he wants. There are very few high school pitchers that can land three pitches for strikes whenever they want, and from the left side. I thought our guys were grinding out some really good at bats, but we ran ourselves out of a couple of innings, and that is on me. Those are some tough decisions out there, but he is just so good and he doesn’t give in. I think you saw that today. Even when we got some traffic, he doesn’t panic. He just makes pitches. Give our guys credit; I thought they had some quality at bats. But man, he was really, really good.”

Trinity’s offense gave them plenty of chances, as nearly every starter in the lineup reached base. Harris went 2-for-2, while Martinez and Chris Reali both were 2-for-3 with a double.

But it was the defense that had a larger impact, most particularly from the inspiring performance from starting catcher Braden McKee.

“This season we have had some innings where things have gotten off the rails. So being in some of those moments, we’ve talked about what it is like to minimize when something happens,” Murphy said. “It comes down to someone stepping up and making a play. I think you have a give a huge shout out to Braden McKee. He is coming off an MCL sprain and that is his first game catching in almost eight weeks today. He battled his butt off to get back, rehabbed and just went after it in rehab and just barely made it back in time. He was probably a little bit ahead of what the doctors recommended, and he gutted it out for us. He throws that guy out, and the ball in the dirt, he blocks it, pump fakes and gets the guy in a rundown. To me, those two plays defensively were huge, and changed the whole momentum of the game right there.”

In one of the biggest moments of the contest, Trinity caught a runner in a rundown between third base and home plate to eliminate Berkeley Prep’s best scoring chance. On the play, the runner fell awkwardly and was injured, and in a moment of excellent sportsmanship it was actually an opposing Trinity Christian player who was first to react to the injury. The player kneeled by his side and put a hand on his shoulder, offering supporting words and helping the player stay calm as his own training staff made their to his aid.

“I think it is a testament to our guys,” Murphy said. “It’s such a competitive atmosphere and you are running hot in an intense moment in the game. We talk a lot about our identity is not in baseball. That’s not who we are. These guys are amazing baseball players, and we might see them on TV one day and that is really cool. They might play this game for a really long time. But them being really good at baseball is not who they are. Ultimately we want our identity rooted in Christ, and that is who we want to be as a team. I think you got to see a little glimpse of that in a human moment, within a game like this where we got a big out. But this guy is hurt, and he is a human that is struggling right here. So even just to give him a little pat on the shoulder and anything we can do to try and help him. Obviously, prayers up for him that he has a quick recovery and hopefully it is not too serious.”

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