Trinity Christian baseball rolls to district title with star Ariel Antigua's return
The Trinity Christian players swarmed out of the dugout as Jan Oquendo’s rocket off his bat sailed over the left-center field fence.
They knew the district championship game was over in the bottom of the fifth inning well before the umpires.
As Oquendo circled the bases — trash-talking a Jupiter Christian infielder along the way — he was met by his Warriors teammates at home plate, water being poured on him during a spirited celebration.
The 10-run rule was in effect as Oquendo’s three-run homer — which had followed Ariel Antigua’s two-run blast in the fourth inning — put Trinity Christian ahead 13-2.
After a few minutes of consultation, the umpires finally ruled the fifth-inning 10-run rule was indeed in place and called the game with Trinity Christian winning its 14th district title in 19 years under Miguel Cuello.
After a team photo, players doused Cuello in a Gatorade bath as the 15-8 squad head to the state regionals with enormous hopes now that their best hitter, Antigua, is back healthy.
Antigua, who had ACL surgery in November, had two hits and two walks as the Warriors of Lake Worth moved to 4-0 since his return.
“We started off the season bumpy," said Oquendo. "Our chemistry fell off because one of our best players got hurt. Now that we have him back, we’re confident we can make it all the way."
This was a close game into the fourth inning, Trinity Christian leading 2-0 with starting pitcher Ricky Gonzalez the star. Then the pitcher got crazy support as the Lake Worth school racked up 11 runs in the fourth and fifth innings — keyed by the left-field blasts of Antigua and Oquendo.
“We came out with the stick today," Cuello said. “Guys were aggressive. It’s now six games in a row. After (Antigua) got back, we’ve won four straight games and it gets contagious. They know our guy is back. Now everybody is jelling. The guy can make a difference with one swing."
Antigua also got swarmed at home plate after his two-run homer capped a five-run fourth inning and put Trinity Christian ahead 7-2. It was a symbolic scene of joy with everyone knowing how tough the journey has been for the senior who is committed to the University of Tennessee. Antigua broke free of the mob and tore to the dugout, both arms raised.
As he tells it, Antigua had a partial tear of his ACL in the summer that went undiagnosed. Then in November, he tore his meniscus, after which it was revealed he had been playing on a damaged ACL.
“It feels good being back," Antigua said. “I got a fastball up and in. That is my pitch. I had to do something with it. I feel 100 percent and ready to go."
Antigua, too, is feeling the black-clad Warriors are destined for the FHSAA state championship game in Fort Myers later this month.
“We can win it all," Antigua said. “We can do it — the whole state now that I’m healthy."
This revered program has a lot of experience with two straight district titles under its belt. They get solid pitching from Gonzalez, who gave up two runs — one unearned — in five innings, notching seven strikeouts. And it owns a dangerous lineup, especially 2-to-5, with the meat also featuring Marcos Mueses, a University of New Orleans commit, and Erick Soto.
Trinity Christian had already beaten its stout rival Jupiter Christian twice this season. But as Cuello told his players in a postgame meeting: "It’s tough to beat a team three times and we beat them three times.’’
“It feels great because you got 10 seniors," Cuello said after being doused and after posing with the district trophy for photos with every one of his players. “They wanted to accomplish this. We spoke about it at practice this could be our 14th."
The game-ending home-run trot by Oquendo will likely be long remembered by Jupiter Christian as he barked at the Eagles infielders. Oquendo said it was the first fastball he saw all evening.
“It felt great," Oquendo of ending the contest. “We’ve had a rivalry for so long. There’s back-and-forth talk. It felt great to keep them quiet a little bit.
"We may see them at regionals but we’re ready. I was just showing off a little because we've had a beef in the past. An infielder said something and I was taunting him back. It was making a statement."
Jupiter Christian, led by Gabe Roque's triple and single, is still learning its regional fate. The Eagles didn’t field well against Trinity Christian and starting pitcher Sam Mortorella had control problems and was lifted for Liam Heady after Antigua's homer.
Before Antigua’s blast in the fourth, the Warriors had scored three runs without a hit — getting two walks and two errors.
“This is nothing new to us," Antigua said. “We’re a good team with a lot of good players. We celebrate so hard because we love it, love to come out here every day."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trinity Christian baseball overpowers Jupiter Christian for district title
