AHSAA 1ST ROUND: Trinity dominates in sweep of Montevallo
Trinity's Xavier Boswell tries to avoid a tag during a rundown in the Wildcats’ win over Montevallo in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs on Friday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Twenty-eight hits. Thirty-four runs. Fifteen walks. More hit batters (seven) than strikeouts (three).
Some of that can be attributed to the pitchers from Trinity’s first-round playoff opponent, but there is no question the Wildcats are playing better baseball at the right time of the year despite a complete overhaul of the coaching staff from last season.
“I feel like it took more of our team coming together than the coaching staff,” Trinity junior Xavier Boswell said. “Once the team starts clicking, you play 10 times better and I think it showed throughout the season.
“I feel like we’re playing a lot better. I think we have more intensity coming into the game. I think we have more passion for the game than when we started. We want to keep winning and keep going.”
Trinity (23-10) won its 12th consecutive game by completing a sweep of Montevallo in the first round of the 4A state playoffs, winning 11-1 in six innings and 23-1 in four innings at Whittle-Armstrong Field on Friday afternoon.
The Wildcats will remain home next week to play Bayside Academy in a best-of-three series beginning Fiday afternoon.
“I think we’re playing so much better baseball,” Trinity coach Ken Whittle acknowledged. “I think we understand what to do, situational baseball. They’re giving us some things, let’s take advantage of it and get some runs. We hit the ball well today, ran the bases well, played aggressive. That part of it is (third-base coach) Chad (Mansmann). It’s a different brand from what I did, but he sees it, he understands it. We’ve gotten better and better.”
How far Trinity can go in the playoffs is anybody’s guess, but it’s a team that had more questions than answers early in the year. Certainly, some of the success can be attributed to Whittle, a Hall of Fame coach brought out of retirement to coach on an interim basis for just this season. And Whittle is grateful to the school’s administrators for letting him assemble a coaching staff that includes four former players at the junior varsity and middle school level with no guarantees past this season.
It starts with pitching and while Montevallo was outmanned from the start, the performance of seniors Walker McClinton and Brady Rascoll was instrumental in the Wildcats’ success. McClinton pitched all six innings of the first game, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while walking two, hitting one and striking out 10.
In the second game, Rascoll pitched three innings and allowed two hits and one unearned run while striking out two.
“They stepped up big time,” Whittle said. “They started this with (an area series’ victory over) LAMP. Walker did a great job here with LAMP, then Brady went over to LAMP and did a great job there. That started us off 2-0 (in the area). I thought we started to play good baseball because we handled LAMP like a good baseball team would. I was really proud.”
On Friday, eight of the 10 starters in the two games drove in a run and all scored at least one run. Cooper Bernier was 3 for 6 with four runs scored and two RBIs, Fleming Hall was 4 for 5 with a pair of triples, five runs scored and five RBIs, Patton Mitchell was 3 for 6 with five runs scored and two RBIs and Ross Sanders was 4 for 6 with a pair of doubles and eight RBIs.
Boswell was 4 for 5 with three runs scored and four RBIs, hitting a triple and a pair of doubles. He sat out last season after transferring from Hooper Academy, practicing in center field with all-state outfielder D.M. Lieux and waiting for his opportunity.
“I learned a lot from him,” Boswell said. “Being ineligible, I just sat back and watched everything and waited for my turn. Once I got my turn, I’m not going to take it lightly. I’m going to take advantage of it.”