High school baseball: Ocala Forest holds off Trinity Catholic in historic first meeting
Ocala Forest and Trinity Catholic warmed up under a pregame shower that threatened the first baseball game between the two Marion County schools. A tarp covered up the pitcher’s mound in case the Florida drizzle turned into a torrential downpour.
A few minutes after the scheduled start time Tuesday night, the teams were given the all clear to begin play. Three hours later, Forest became the 7-5 victor over Trinity Catholic in the historic matchup.
“We had two of our big guns out before the game started and lost another one during the game, so it’s been rough,” said Forest head coach Mike Streit. “People at school administration, other coaches talk about how we keep battling, we keep winning, we keep getting everything we can out of these kids.”
It took both teams a while to find their footing. Forest (6-4) saw four players on the mound and three behind home plate. Trinity Catholic (10-2) dealt with pitching and defensive issues, allowing the Wildcats to take the lead through unearned runs.
The Celtics settled in the fifth inning, decreasing a six-run deficit to one. The momentum sent the dugout into a frenzy, giving Trinity Catholic the confidence needed to get back in the game.
“To be honest, I’m a little disappointed in the way we played,” said Trinity Catholic head coach Tommy Bond. “They took advantage of the mistakes we made, were efficient, and made big pitches when they had to make them.”
It wasn’t enough for Trinity Catholic to take the lead, especially after Forest found success in the batter’s box and pitcher Kohl Kilcrease left the Celtics scoreless in the final two innings. Five batters notched an RBI, including Michael Mellucci, Jayden Willier and Porter Craig, who are all batting above .500.
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Forest survived gauntlet despite injuries
Forest is two games over .500 through its first 10 games. Judging by its strength of schedule and injury history, most teams would be lucky to be on the right side of the bar.
On Tuesday night, the team lost its starting catcher, Jonathan Rubin, due to an undisclosed hand injury. It affected his play early, but he closed out the inning to allow the Wildcats to find their rhythm. Melluci gave catcher a try, a position he hasn't played since eight grade, before Porter stepped up. Turns out he hadn't played catcher since the eight grade.
“No one understands how big it was for him to get out of the inning for us so we could make a plan B,” said Streit.
He’s not the only Wildcat dealing with injuries that could cost them games. Starting pitcher and the team’s most potent hitter, TCU commit Kaden Smith, hasn’t played in three weeks but could return later in the week. The Wildcats were down starting outfielder Keagen Princinski, who has been sidelined as long as Smith.
The Wildcats are resilient
We talked about injuries; it’s time to focus on in-game adjustments. One begets the other, but the execution rings out. Forest lived on the next-man-up mentality.
After a strong start, pitcher, Mason Laurito lost his rhythm when Rubin went down; the relationship between a pitcher and a catcher is special. It can change how a pitcher throws, especially when it’s the first time the two have worked together. It opened up a path for Laurito, Brock White, and Jorge Romero to see time on the mound before Kilcrease cleaned things up in the final innings.
Conversely, the Wildcats’ bats sprang to life when they needed them most. It helped them escape a Celtics push in the later innings of the game.
Players that haven’t had hits in 7 or 8 games connected on balls in the clutch. The family bond Forest is building has helped many through the regular-season slump.
“For them to continue to work, not get lost, not worry about who's going to take their spot, and them to know we trust them, and they trust us,” said Streit. “They’re each other’s biggest fans, and when you’ve got everyone cheering for you, it’s pretty easy to come out of that.”
Trinity Catholic falls for the second time this season
The Celtics have not lost a game since Berkeley Prep beat them at home 19-6 on March 3. They’d avenge that loss on the road taking the Buccaneers down 10-4 a week later. It had been three weeks since they tasted defeat.
In that time, they went 4-0 in a tournament over spring break with a win against Colorado’s 4A state champion Ponderosa and challenging a host of quality opponents. Bond and company understood a loss was coming, eventually. It would just take the right storm.
“We saw some good competition that will benefit us down the road,” Bind said. “Same as tonight. Seeing good arms and good competition will benefit us during playoff time.”
They’ll get another crack at the Wildcats on April 18. The Celtics have time to iron out the mistakes they saw on the mound and have the fire in their belly to put their best foot forward in their rematch.
They’ll need to do it soon. The Celtics have another tournament and matchup with Fernandina Beach.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Forest show resiliency against Trinity Catholic in first baseball meeting
