Baseball district wrap: Trinity Christian rolls, plus Creekside, Beachside, Bolles, BK win
Gage Petrutz and Ethan Wheeler knocked in three runs apiece and Trinity Christian unleashed an explosion at the plate, overwhelming Bishop Snyder 14-0 in Thursday night's Florida High School Athletic Association District 2-3A baseball final.
Trinity Christian (21-6) broke out for six runs in the second inning and eight more in the third to halt the proceedings early under the FHSAA mercy rule.
Despite the defeat, Bishop Snyder (18-8) is assured of qualifying for next week's regional playoffs.
Brayden Harris and Jordan Martinez each tallied two hits for the Conquerors and Tyler Ellis combined with Aaron Watson and Wheeler to limit the Cardinals to a single hit.
District 1-7A
Creekside rallied with three sixth-inning runs, capped by Tavern Blansit's go-ahead double, overcoming rival Bartram Trail 4-3 in a Longleaf Pine Parkway clash for their first district championship in eight years.
Senior Quinn Wilfong earned the win in relief for the Knights (17-10). Bartram Trail (16-11) had grabbed a lead in the top of the sixth on Phin Huber's two-RBI single.
Softball district wrap: Baldwin tops Episcopal in thriller, Creekside, UC also win
District 2-5A
Nate Dietz threw 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball for Tallahassee Lincoln, handcuffing the batters of Columbia (15-12) in a 2-0 win for the Trojans.
Senior Myles Bailey went deep for the Trojans (15-11), enough to overcome a combined five-hitter from Tiger pitchers Grant Bowers and Bynton Edge.
District 3-5A
In a must-win game, senior Josh Taylor fired a six-hit shutout with five strikeouts to lead Orange Park to the upset of Clay (16-9), sealing an automatic bid to regionals in the process.
Taylor also went 3 for 3 at the plate, while Tyson Cruz added a double and Aiden Devlin homered for the Raiders (14-13).
District 4-5A
Second-year program Beachside built an eight-run edge to seal a playoff bid, quashing a seventh-inning rally and winning 8-4 over Ponte Vedra (12-15) in an all-St. Johns County clash.
The Barracudas (15-13) punished 10 walks by Shark pitching, with Riley Hofrichter delivering two RBI and Ryan Whitaker pitching six innings for the victory.
District 2-4A
Evan Cannon and Mason Smith combined for five hits and five RBI as the heart of the order came through for Baker County in a 9-5 win over Wakulla (20-5-1).
Smith fought through five walks and six hits to earn the win on the mound for the Wildcats (16-12).
District 3-4A
Scoring six runs in the first three innings, Bishop Kenny pulled away early for a 9-1 victory against visiting Yulee (17-11).
Franco Chaluja went 3 for 4 with a double and Andrew McWilliams combined with Cole Dennis on a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts for the Crusaders (19-8).
District 4-4A
A delayed start didn't slow down the bats of Alachua Santa Fe, pounding out hits early and often for a 14-3 win over Menendez (9-18) in five innings.
Evan Christmas, Angel Irizarry and Dylan Lovelace (4 for 4, five RBI) all doubled for the Raiders (14-12).
District 3-3A
Bolles struck early in a five-run third inning for an 8-2 victory over private-school rival Episcopal (19-8).
Sophomore Ford McCarthy doubled twice and Gabe Gonzalez added another two-base hit for Bolles (20-7), while David Martin limited the Eagles to five hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings.
District 4-3A
Mekai Griffin's three-run homer in the third inning was the difference for Ocala Trinity Catholic (12-11), winning 5-3 against Keystone Heights.
Miami commit Griffin also struck out 13 batters on the mound for the Celtics, while limiting Keystone (20-8) to four hits.
District 2-2A
Dayton Taylor's home run helped St. Joseph stun No. 1-seeded St. Johns Country Day 2-1 in Clay County.
Sean Miskowiec worked six gritty innings for the Flashes (19-8) before Aiden Torrez came on for the save. George Gilson supplied the lone RBI for the Spartans (20-6).
District 3-2A
Caden Worbington and Austin Pickett combined on a shortened no-hitter for University Christian, cruising 10-0 past Eagle's View (8-16).
Bubba Crouch and Elias Murdock whacked two doubles apiece for UC (17-9), and Worbington added a pair of RBI.
District 6-1A
A game-ending wild pitch scored JT Cook with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as Mayo Lafayette survived 2-1 against Union County (14-13).
Hyatt Richardson pitched a four-hitter for the Hornets (21-2), winners of their last nine. Foster Smith doubled twice for Union County.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school baseball: Northeast Florida district tournament recap
