With nation’s top prep player, Fort Worth Christian baseball reaches title game
Fort Worth Christian star shortstop Grady Emerson did Grady Emerson things, but the senior shortstop got plenty of help as the Cardinals blitzed district rival Lubbock Trinity Christian 10-3 in a TAPPS Division II state semifinal on Monday at Gould Field on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington.
Fort Worth Christian (34-6-1) is trying to finally get over the state tournament hump as the Cardinals are making their 14th trip to the tournament and now the 8th to a title game without a championship to show for it. The Cardinals, which last reached a championship game in 2019, will face Houston Lutheran South (27-8), a 3-2 winner over Houston Second Baptist (23-8-1), in the title game on Tuesday morning.
Emerson, projected to be the 2nd pick in the Major League Baseball draft, drove in a pair of runs with a laced, 1-out, bases-loaded single to right in a 4-run fourth inning for FWC that made it 5-1. Emerson was 2 for 3 at the plate with a run scored and made a sparkling play in the top of the fourth to throw out a runner at first on a bases-loaded chopped grounder past the mound.
The bottom of the Fort Worth Christian batting order did a great job of setting the table for the top with Jake Parkerson (2 for 4 with an RBI), Jacob Ward (2 for 4 with 2 runs scored) and Jackson Perdue (3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI) all contributed.
“This team is super special from a standpoint of we’re all brothers, and we all get along really well, but we also love to compete,” said Emerson who was recently announced as a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award that’s awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. “I think that what has really driven us this year is knowing that we have a special team and knowing that we don’t want that to go to waste.
“So every game, every moment we step out there we’re giving it our all and I think we’ve had a lot of success so far, and hopefully that can carry into tomorrow’s game as well.”
Fort Worth Christian coach and former MLB player Rusty Greer was also pleased with how his team performed, especially at the bottom of the order.
“One thing we talked about all year is playing seven innings and finishing the game and playing with intent and I think we did that today,” said Greer who played his entire 9-year career with the Texas Rangers. “That’s how you get the train moving. The bottom half gets going and gets it ready for the top half.”
After Emerson’s defensive play in the fourth inning, with the score 3-1, Trinity Christian (31-10-1) never really challenged. The Cardinals led 7-1 after four innings and 10-2 after 5.
The Lions didn’t fare any better against FWC during their district slate as well as the Cardinals went out to Lubbock and run-ruled Trinity twice 10-0 and 16-4, both in 5 innings.
The title drought for Fort Worth Christian hasn’t gone unnoticed by Emerson.
“Rusty and I talked about it this summer, and now we have this opportunity,” said Emerson. “I told him I want to get one so bad, not for me, but just for this team and for this program. I feel like we put in the work, we’ve done all things we needed to do, and obviously this program has had a lot of success, but I think we just need that one final thing. I think we’re going to get it tomorrow.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 11:05 PM.