Trinity Christian Rolls Past West Boca, 10-0
According to Trinity Christian Manager Miquel Cuello, Keanu Irausquin was not listed as a pitcher on the opening day roster. Wednesday, he showed he belongs there.
The Warriors met the West Boca Bulls in an afternoon game in the Hall of Fame Baseball tournament at Pompano Municipal Park in Pompano Beach. Under sunny skies, Irausquin led the Warriors to a 10-0 victory over the Bulls.
Scattering three hits over five innings, Irausquin was not overpowering but still very successful. He struck out three and walked four, but he enticed the Bulls to hit the ball where his defense backed him up handily.
The Warriors defense was stalwart when they needed to be, highlighted by a spectacular diving catch by Jowenrick Daanjti in the second. Trinity Christian also turned two pretty infield double plays. The first one was started by third baseman Carlos Farias and cleared the Bulls off the bases in the first inning. The second gem ended the game with the bases loaded in the fifth and final frame.
“They got a few guys on in the second inning and my defense came through,” Irausquin said. “Joey came up with that diving catch. Whew, I was relieved.”
Trinity Christian (11-3) was aggressive at the plate. The Warriors combined three hits, a walk and an error to score three runs in the first inning. They pushed two more across in the second on three hits, and an additional two in the third.
The first inning set the stage for the game. With one out and the bases loaded, West Boca starting pitcher, Alec Raulin got Warriors catcher Shadrach Muelens to hit a routine ground ball in the infield. What surely looked like an inning-ending double play was mishandled and allowed two runs to score while prolonging the inning for the Warriors. They scored another run on a passed ball, and never looked back.
“We’ve had an issue with committing errors with runners on this year,” said West Boca Manager Nate Underwood. “When we have had less errors than the other team we are six and zero. You can’t have twice as many errors than hits, like we did today, and expect to win the game.”
Shortstop Chris Busch played well for West Boca (9-6). He collected one of the Bulls three hits and made some nice plays in the infield. Third baseman Jordan Keller went 1-for-2 and catcher Michael Lazarus collected the other Bulls’ base hit.
Trinity Christian was led by senior Bruce Martin, who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Also producing for the Warriors was Edmond Americaan, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs. Big days were had by freshman Xavier Edwards and the junior Daanjti. Edwards had two hits and scored two runs, while Daanjti went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
“We hit the ball better than we did in the first game of the tournament,” Manager Miquel Cuello stated. ” We needed this. We have been pitching well, but our hitting has been off. This game helps, and my hope is we get back to being a hitting team.”
Both these teams will have plenty of opportunity to work on their games. The tournament continues until March 20th, with both teams playing at least two more games. Trinity also won 1-0 over Naples prior to facing the Bulls, who lost to Naples on Tuesday.