Big inning dooms Lakeland Christian baseball in FHSAA semifinal
· Yahoo Sports
Lakeland Christian had its work cut out for itself as Jacksonville Trinity Christian, No. 1 in 2A, No. 3 in the state and No. 20 in the nation awaited the Vikings. For three innings, the Vikings battled even with Conquerors.
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There was just one bad inning by the Lakeland Christian, but against a team like Trinity Christian, one bad inning is all it takes.
Trinity Christian erupted for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a tie score and went on to defeat Lakeland Christian, 7-2, on Monday morning in the semifinals of the 2026 FHSAA Class 2A Baseball State Championship at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
Lakeland Christian was in the state tournament for the fourth time in school history, having won titles in 2019 and 2023. Trinity Christian is in its eighth state tournament and is looking for its second state title. The Conquerors were state runners-up last year.
Trinity Christian’s first three batters did most of the damage. Leadoff batter Brady Harris doubled and tripled, walked twice and scored four runs. Aiden Arnett and Jordan Martinez each drove in three runs.
The Vikings’ downfall came in the fourth inning. After starting pitcher Kole Walker pitched the first three innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits and three walks, Fin Donay took over.
The first two Trinity Christian batters reached on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. After a strikeout and an intentional walk, Arnett singled to center to drive in two runs and break the tie. Martinez followed with a single to drive in two more runs before LCS turned an inning-ending double play.
Lakeland Christian had just two baserunners the rest of the game. Jaxson Rodriguez singled to lead off the fifth and Bryndon Barton walked to lead off the seventh.
Things looked bright early for Lakeland Christian. Gavin Byrd led off the game with a single then stole second. He advanced to third on a dropped third strike and scored on Parker Kant’s infield groundout.
Brody Brenneman followed with a two-out single and scored on Maclain Irby’s double to right. After Reid Freda walked, Trinity Christian pitcher Ethan Wheeler struck out Brandon Barton to end the inning.
Trinity Christian quickly answered in the bottom of the first. Harris doubled to left to lead off the inning, reaching third on an error on the play. He scored Arnett’s sacrifice fly.
Harris tripled to lead off the third and scored on an infield groundout to tie the score, 2-2.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Trinity Christian defeats Lakeland Christian in FHSAA state semifinals