Huge turnout for Trinity summer baseball

Trinity’s emotional, roller-coaster 2016 baseball season culminated with the graduation of 15 seniors. Only two starting position players will be back next spring, so the summer takes on extra urgency for guys looking to make major impacts next year.

Trinity is among the schools that play in a high school summer league. It’s a six-week affair that ends this week. The Trojans had enough participation that they actually split into two varsity squads as well as a JV and a freshman team.

This participation is in addition to the select ball that many of the kids play during the summer. But given all the vacated spots on the Trinity roster, it’s not surprising.

“They knew that going into the summer that there are a lot of positions open and a lot of guys competing for those positions,” Trojans coach Will Averitt said. “We get an idea of who those guys are going to be to step up and take that leadership role and who matures physically and the improvements they make over the summer.”

Finding leaders is of primary concern for Averitt. His two returning starters are still underclassmen. Junior outfielder Daniel Childs will join sophomore catcher Jimmy Crooks as the only two experienced veterans. Averitt noted that Childs, the younger brother of graduated standout Philip Childs, has already started to show those important leadership qualities.

And with such a large senior class moving on, it’s time for the next senior class to leave its mark. Averitt mentioned a few of those guys he expects to play significant roles for the Trojans next year, including outfielders Andrew Bowman and Zach Palumbo.

Averitt also hopes seniors left-hander Bryan Renschler and righty Kyler Duerson can power the pitching staff, along with sophomore Kris Velasquez.

Sophomore Laki Ellis is another underclassmen to catch Averitt’s eye and could be a potential player in several positions next year.

“We’ve got a handful of guys that are going to be battling it out on the infield,” Averitt said.

While positions won’t be won or lost in the summer league, there’s still plenty to be gained. For the coach, one of the most important is his team’s unity.

“It is the summer so it’s kind of laid back, but at the same time you want to get out there and work on some things,” Averitt said. “The biggest part of it is camaraderie. That’s what I want to see, some guys stepping up to be leaders, some bonding. We graduated 15 seniors so we need people to step up and get that chemistry going.”

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Huge turnout for Trinity summer baseball."