Trinity baseball’s improbable run ends vs. Midlothian

For a season that played out in dramatic fashion down the stretch in district, it was only fitting that the Trinity baseball team’s postseason would end dramatically as well. This time, though, there was no rabbit in the hat for the Trojans, as Midlothian ultimately took the bi-district series two games to one.

Trinity could hardly have started the playoffs any better. Facing Panthers ace Russell Smith, who hadn’t surrendered an earned run all season, the Trojans erupted for four runs in the first inning as they marched to a 10-2 victory at home.

“We felt pretty confident since we put 10 runs up on them,” senior outfielder Philip Childs said.

Trinity coach Will Averitt was pleased with his club’s effort, but not actually surprised.

“We were able to get after him,” Averitt said. “Of course, in our district, that’s the kind of pitching we see week in and week out. So it wasn’t anything we weren’t ready for.”

The series shifted to Midlothian for Game 2, and again it was the Trojans who struck first. Trinity carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh, when the series swung.

The Panthers were able to plate three runs, the last one on a two-out, walk-off single that evened the series and set up a decisive Game 3 just a half hour later.

“Their kid just had a good at bat to win it,” Averitt said of Game 2. “It was a good pitch, down and in, and he just went and got it. It wasn’t like we gave it to them. They had three hits in that inning and they went and got it.”

Stunned, Trinity had little time to regroup before the rubber match.

“It was pretty hard because they had momentum,” Childs said.

Still, the team was confident it could bounce back.

“Obviously with that dramatic win for them our backs were against the wall at that point,” Averitt said. “But we felt pretty good about having enough pitching.”

But in the end it was the Midlothian pitching that sealed the deal, as the Panthers shut out Trinity 4-0 to take the game and the series.

“We just couldn’t get any hits together in the third game and that’s what hurt us,” Childs said.

“We didn’t expect them to have much pitching left, and I think that’s what got us,” senior Cade Hutchison said. “They had a good pitcher going and that’s what did it.”

There was a bit of controversy in Game 3, when a play at the plate was ruled Midlothian’s first run instead of the third out of the inning.

“It came down to a couple of plays and a couple of breaks that decided the game,” Hutchison said. “We didn’t get some breaks and they did. That’s just how it goes sometimes.”

All season long, Averitt harped on his team to not give games away — that if you’re beaten because the other guys were just better on the day, he’s OK with that. His final message to the team after Game 3 echoed that.

“We didn’t give it away,” Averitt told the team. “We played clean and they beat us. We need to respect that and shake their hands like men and wish them good luck.”

Most any season will have its highs and lows, and for Trinity in 2016 there was all of the above. But ultimately Averitt is proud of how his squad finished the year.

“It’s been a good season,” he said. “We struggled. We struggled and then got hot there [at the end]. It just seemed like we were snake-bit on the day. It went their way. All the credit to them for coming out to do what they had to do to sweep us.”

For players like Hutchison, there were always be that lingering “what if.”

“It’s bittersweet, because as a team we think we could have gone a lot farther,” he said. “We’ll never know, but that’s what bittersweet is that we wish we could have found out how far we could go.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Trinity baseball’s improbable run ends vs. Midlothian."