Celtics post shutout to advance in playoffs

With a loud ping that could be heard up and down 42nd Street, junior Luke Wilkerson launched a high fly ball deep into the darkening sky. There was nothing the Trinity Prep outfielders could do except watch the ball soar over the fence.

Wilkerson’s solo bomb in the bottom of the third punctuated a nine-run effort by Trinity Catholic’s offense as the Celtics (18-9) easily advanced past Trinity Prep (12-13) 9-0 in the regional quarterfinal of the 3A state playoffs.

Trinity Catholic coach Tommy Bond said that Wilkerson was his team’s most valuable player of the game.

“Luke Wilkerson had three hits, hit a home run, played good defense at first base, so I’d say Luke Wilkerson,” Bond said.

The Celtics were on the board in the first inning, but they all but put the game away in the second inning. Trinity Catholic had six runs on five hits and a pair of walks.

With a runner on first, senior Mark Gibas smashed a triple off the wall in right-center field to score the Celtics’ second run of the game. Gibas then scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Following a double play and a single, shortstop Cade Hentz knocked home another run with the second RBI triple of the inning.

Senior Mason Scroggie kept the inning alive by advancing on a dropped third strike to put runners at the corners. Following a walk, Anthony Cordero cleared the bases with a three-RBI triple to cap off the inning up 7-0.

“I think everybody kind of relaxes a little bit, and it just makes it easier for pitchers,” Bond said. “And guys offensively obviously did a really good job taking advantage of mistakes.”

The Celtics made it an eight-run game in the third on Wilkerson’s home run. In the bottom of the fifth inning, with two runners in scoring position, a sacrifice fly plated another run to seal the 9-0 victory. Four Trinity Catholic pitchers combined for the shutout.

Trinity Catholic will face The First Academy (Orlando) in the next round after the Royals eliminated The Villages with an 11-3 win on Thursday to improve to 27-1 on the season.

“If we show up and get out there and play, I think we can play with anybody,” Bond said. “But our region is full of talented teams, so you got to show up ready to go.”